our-yoga

by Nina

In her interview with us (see Judith Lasater on Yoga and Aging), Judith Lasater mentioned the poses that she currently practices, citing "especially Viparita Karanai (Legs Up the Wall pose), Supported Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) on the chair and Supported Halasana (Plow pose) on the Halasana bench." In my post Judith Lasater's Favorite Poses, I talked about these poses and why, even though they may be a little tricky to learn, they're so worth the effort. Today, at long last, I'll actually get into the nitty gritty details of how to get into and out of Supported Halasana, which Judith does with the Halasana bench.

If you don't have a Halasana bench (very few of us do!), you need a chair that has no bar between the two front legs because you need to be able to get your head underneath the chair seat. And you also need a chair that either has no back panel or that has a space between the panel and the seat that is large enough to fit your legs through (I'm on the small side, so I use a chair that still has a back panel).

Start by placing two folded blankets (folded as if for Shoulderstand) with the folded ends against the chair legs. Place a folded yoga mat on the chair seat for cushioning. Then lie down on your back, with your shoulders a couple of inches from the folded edges of the blankets (your shoulders will move toward the edge of the blanket when you go up), your head underneath the chair seat, and your knees bent with the soles of your feet on the floor. Lengthen your arms along the floor, with your fingers reaching toward your toes.
To come up into the pose, press your hands into the floor and swing your legs up and onto the chair seat. Scoot your legs through the chair back until your thighs rest comfortably on the chair seat. If necessary, you can steady the chair as you scoot your legs through the chair back by taking your hands onto the front chair legs. When you are settled, bring your arms up toward the chair seat, bend your elbows, and rest your arms on the floor outside of the chair legs.
(With the Halasana bench, there is no chair back to worry about so it is easier to get in the pose, however, the bench has sides so your head is closed in by the box.)

Make sure that your thighs are relaxing onto the chair seat, and that your back is near vertical (it can be slightly rounded). If you are tall, you may need to add some height to the chair seat to support your thighs (that will mean getting out of the pose, adding blankets on top of the chair seat. This photo shows a second way to do the pose, with extra height on the seat (for a tall person) and bent knees:
Congratulations you've made it into a Supported Halasana! The pose should be quite comfortable. Ideally you should be able to remain in the pose for several minutes (I stay about four) to allow the relaxation response to take full effect. Hanging upside down from your hips will also provide a lovely release of your back, as your spine lengthens with gravity. However, if the pose is uncomfortable or causes you any pain, come out of it. Think about what kind of changes you might make to your propping. If you find that you just can't get comfortable, for example, if your neck is stiff and can't bend deeply, this pose might not be for you.

To come out of the pose, bring your hands back down by your buttocks. Then press your hands into the floor as you slowly scoot your legs off the chair seat and swing them down, with bent knees, back to the floor.
When your feet are back on the floor, slide out from under the chair so your head is on the blanket stack and your shoulders are resting on the floor. Then slowly roll over onto your side and rest there for a couple of breaths. When you're ready, slowly use your hands to push yourself up to a seated position, only raising your head when you are fully upright. Taking your time coming out of the pose helps you retain the quietness you cultivated while you were in the pose.

by Nina

In her interview with us (see Judith Lasater on Yoga and Aging), Judith Lasater mentioned the poses that she currently practices, citing "especially Viparita Karanai (Legs Up the Wall pose), Supported Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) on the chair and Supported Halasana (Plow pose) on the Halasana bench." By chance—or maybe not by chance if you stop to think about it—those are some of my favorite poses, and I recently had a friend take some photos of me doing them so I could share them on the blog. Then, as it happened, someone left a comment on the interview with Judith, asking us to share two of the poses with you: the Shoulderstand in a Chair and Supported Halasana with a Halasana bench. That was the kick in the pants I needed. (We've covered Viparita Karani many times on the blog—see Featured Pose: Legs Up the Wall pose.)

Here is a photo of the Shoulderstand in a Chair. I'm doing the pose with my legs straight up because that's the way I prefer doing it. Some people, however, practice this pose in more of a backbend, with their legs supported on a bolster and their feet over the back of the chair. But I find that position less comfortable.

Shoulderstand in a Chair

And here is a photo of Supported Halasana (Plow pose), sometimes called Arda Halasana (Half Plow pose). Okay, fine, I don't have a Halasana bench (a specially designed piece of furniture), but you probably don't, either. So I use a chair for Supported Halasana, instead. Yes, the good news is that you don't need a special piece of furniture to do this pose, but if you are using a chair, you need one that has no bar between the two front legs because you need to be able to get your head underneath the chair seat. And you also need a chair that either has no back panel or that has a space between the panel and the seat that is large enough to fit your legs through (I'm on the small side, so I can use a chair that has a back panel).

Supported Halasana

If you've never done these poses before, you may be wondering how the heck you get into them. Since I practice them all the time, and teach them whenever I teach yoga for better sleep, stress management or emotional wellbeing, I can tell you! However, quite frankly the process is complex enough that I've decided to do separate posts for each of the poses (we took photos of all the steps in and out of them, which will make that easier). But I will tell you that it's like learning to drive a car; at first the process is complicated and a little stressful, but with practice you get to a point where getting in and out becomes automatic and you don't even have to think about it anymore.

So it they take so much practice to learn, why should you bother? Well, as many of you know by now, I'm a huge fan of inverted poses in general (see Just in Time for Holidays: Inverted Poses). Because you are upside down in these poses, they automatically trigger the relaxation response (see Why You Should Love Your Baroreceptors). And perhaps because these poses are slightly more physically active than restorative poses, the rest they provide feels more refreshing to me. So when I'm fatigued, a supported inversion practice is just the trick. These two poses provide the extra advantage of placing your legs higher than your heart (as well as your heart higher than your head). Having your legs higher than your heart means that gravity helps return the blood in your legs to your heart, improving your circulation and reducing swelling in your feet, ankles and legs. So these poses are wonderfully restorative for your legs when you've been on your feet all day, whether standing for your work, walking or running.

Chair Shoulderstand is one of the most soothing inverted poses because you are both supported and completely inverted. Although full Shoulderstand is considered a calming pose, the reality is that for most people—even relatively flexible people like me—the unsupported pose just is not that comfortable. Chair Shoulderstand, on the other hand, is very comfortable and you can hold the position for quite a while. I like to hold it for at least 6 minutes, because I can feel my "quiet switch" turn on after around 5 minutes. And you can do the Chair Shoulderstand in place of full Shoulderstand in any sequence. 

Supported Halasana is a very quieting pose because you fold inward in addition to being inverted. Furthermore, as you hang from your hips in this pose, the traction on your back that this pose provides feels wonderful, particularly if your lower back is bothering you. That said, I really don't think this pose is for everyone. People who don't have flexible necks can find the extreme forward bending of the neck (flexion) in this pose uncomfortable. And some people with round bodies find it very difficult if not impossible to fold their bodies into this position. In this case, turning the pose upside down into a seated forward bend with head support is great alternative.

Supported Seated Forward Bend

Typically, if you were going sequence Judith's three favorite poses, you would do Chair Shoulderstand first, then Supported Halasana, and finally end with Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall).

Tip: for women with large breasts, which tend to fall into your face in these poses, I recommend tying a strap around your upper chest before going into the pose.