Ask a Yoga Teacher: Shoulderstand/Sarvangasana

Also Legs Up the Wall pose/Viparita Karani and Fish pose/Matsyasana because they are all related

Welcome to my monthly series Ask a Yoga Teacher, where you get your questions answered about different yoga poses, movement concepts, or anything else you have questions about. If you have a question you’d like me to answer, you can leave a comment or reach out by chat or email. This will be a long one, so make yourself comfortable, grab some tea, and let’s get started.

Shoulderstand/Sarvangasana, is an inversion pose and is the counterpose to Headstand, which I wrote about last month.

Ask a Yoga Teacher: Headstand dos and don’ts

Many yoga poses have counter poses, like doing forward bends after backward bends, and this pose is no different. Shoulderstand is the counter pose to Headstand, and Fish pose/Matsyasana is the counterpose to Shoulderstand. I will walk you through that pose as well.

Benefits of inversions

Inverted poses have the main benefit of reversing the effects of gravity on the body. When the legs are higher than the heart, the blood flows more easily back to the heart to be reoxygenated by the lungs. Normally our leg contractions help send blood back to the heart, but when you are inverted, gravity does the work for you.

Shoulderstand is a calming pose. Where Headstand is heating and energizing, Shoulderstand is cooling and calming. If you struggle with insomnia, it’s a wonderful pose to do before bed, as is Legs Up the Wall pose/Viparita Karani, which I will discuss later.

Sarvangasana translates as “All Body Parts Pose” because of the benefits to the entire body: the musculoskeletal system, circulatory system, nervous system, endocrine system, and digestive system. It strengthens the core, arms, and legs, while creating mobility in the neck, upper back, and shoulders. It improves overall circulation, calms the nervous system, supports the thyroid, thymus, and pineal glands, and improves digestion by creating more space for the intestines.

Cautions

Shoulderstand is often called the “Mother of All Yoga Poses” because of its myriad benefits, but, as Ben Parker (Spiderman’s uncle) said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Shoulderstand is not a pose for beginners, but I will give you modifications and ways to work up to Shoulderstand if you are a beginning yoga practitioner. Please don’t practice this pose if you have uncontrolled high or low blood pressure, retinal detachment or eye pressure problems, or deal with chronic neck or shoulder injuries. In those cases, Legs Up the Wall pose is your pose.

I learned from the Iyengar tradition of yoga to always practice this pose with a blanket. A blanket creates a bit more space for the neck so that you aren’t bending the neck at a 90 degree angle. It also cushions your C7 vertebra which can bruise if you practice on a hard floor. You don’t want that. Iyengar practitioners typically use 2 blankets under the shoulders, but it will depend on the thickness of your blankets how many you use. I still practice using a blanket under my shoulders, even after 30 years. Better safe than sorry.

Legs Up the Wall Pose

This is a great pose to do before bed or when you feel stressed or anxious as it’s a calming pose. You can also do this pose with a chair, a couch, or your bed. Using a wall, sit with one hip against a wall, then lie down as you swing your legs up the wall. If your hamstrings are tight, move your hips a little away from the wall. The wall should support your legs with little to no effort on your part. Your feet may slide apart slightly, let that be okay.

To make it more of an inversion, place a block, a bolster, or a folded blanket or towel under your pelvis to lift your hips higher than your heart. Your hands can rest on your belly or open to your sides with the palms facing the ceiling.

You can stay in Legs Up the Wall pose for 10 breaths, for 15 minutes or more, do what feels right for you. It is a restful pose that is wonderful for meditation too. It has cooling benefits which may help with hot flashes. I find Shoulderstand is better for that, but this pose is good too.

Beginning version of Shoulderstand, against a wall

Practicing Shoulderstand against the wall gives you all the benefits of the inversion while using the wall for support. Whether you are a beginning yoga practitioner or have been practicing for years, this variation is definitely one to play with.

Have a folded blanket near the wall so that when you lie down in Legs Up the Wall pose, your shoulders are supported by the blanket and your head is on the floor. The neck touches nothing. The folded side of the blanket should face away from the wall to give your shoulders appropriate support.

Bend your knees, placing your feet on the wall. Press your feet into the wall and peel your spine off the floor as if you were in a Bridge pose. Walk your shoulders toward each other and place your hands on your back. Your upper arms are moving toward each other behind your back. Your palms should be flat on your back, all 10 fingers aiming for the ceiling.

Aim your tailbone toward your knees, engaging the glutes. You can stay just as you are, or extend one leg at a time toward the ceiling. Eventually you can bring both legs off the wall, supporting yourself with your arms, or leave your feet on the wall.

Stay as long as feels useful. Maybe 5-10 breaths, maybe 10 minutes, it’s up to you. It’s a bit more effort to hold, so listen to your body. To come down, press both feet into the wall, release your arms, and slowly roll down back to Legs Up the Wall pose. Rest a couple of breaths then come away from the wall to practice Fish pose/Matsyasana (see below).

Shoulderstand/Sarvangasana

The traditional way to practice Shoulderstand is coming from Plow pose/Halasana, which I wrote about here:

Ask a Yoga Teacher: Plow pose/Halasana

From Plow pose, with your shoulders on the blanket and your head on the floor, make sure your upper arms are stable on the floor. The upper arms move toward being parallel to each other, but might not actually be so. It can be helpful to place a strap around your upper arms to keep them in place.

From there, place your palms on your back like when you were against the wall. 10 fingers aim for the ceiling. You don’t want to bend your wrists. Your palms create a little wall that supports your back.

Either lift one leg at a time, or float both legs at the same time upward toward the ceiling. Ideally you want the ankles over the hips over the shoulders, but this may or may not be possible. Press the feet away from your head and move your hips in the direction of your head to be as vertical as your body allows.

Engage your inner thighs to bring the legs together. Point your feet, but flex your toes as if you were standing on the ceiling in stilettos. Stay 5-10 breaths, or longer, then slowly lower your feet back over your head into Plow pose. From Plow, roll down slowly one vertebra at a time until you are reclining on your back on the floor.

Fish pose/Matsyasana

Fish pose is the counterpose to Shoulderstand. You don’t need to practice it after Legs Up the Wall (although you can), but I suggest you do after any type of Shoulderstand practice.

From lying down, you can either walk your hands underneath your hips, or (what I prefer), grab the sides of your thighs with your hands. Press your elbows into the floor to lift your chest toward the ceiling. Drop your head back so that the top of your head rests on the floor and your chin moves away from your chest.

If your head doesn’t touch the floor, you can either place it on a block or folded blanket, or you can walk your elbows toward your waist until it does touch. This is where having your hands free helps.

Traditionally you stay in Fish pose for 1/6 the amount of breaths you took in Shoulderstand, but if you didn’t count your breaths, stay in Fish for as long as it feels useful. You don’t want to feel struggle or strain, especially because you are resting on your head.