For Beginners: Halasana

This inversion not only increases circulation, suppleness, and vitality, it also prepares the body for relaxation and meditation.

On your journey toward a consistent hatha yoga practice, you will inevitably encounter obstacles that break your flow, times when the momentum building inside you—toward health, intelligence, strength, or flexibility—stalls. Finding yourself in this place, you may be tempted into a long-term sabbatical or fall into an attitude of complacency or defeat.

Although such times can bring varying degrees of frustration, it is useful to acknowledge them as part of the process. Within such periods of struggle resides great potential for growth. They provide the setting for overturning old, decayed ways of doing or seeing things, and the opportunity to do the groundwork necessary for what lies ahead. If your attitude toward your practice has been cultivated properly from the very beginning, then you will see these occasions as opportunities to sharpen your attention, reassess the directions you have taken, and uncover new points of view.

There are many ways of looking at Halasana (Plow Pose) in search of deeper meaning and guidance. As with many yoga asanas, Halasana's name is suggestive of the basic shape of the pose, which resembles the traditional plows found in Tibetan and Indian culture. Symbolically, the plow is represented in the myths and traditional stories of Egypt, China, Tibet, and India. In the Ramayana, King Janaka uncovers a beautiful baby girl as he is plowing the earth in a sacrificial ground. He adopts the baby and names her Sita, and she later becomes the beautiful wife of Rama. This story relates the power of the plow as a tool for revealing hidden treasures.

Regular practice of Plow Pose nurtures and rejuvenates the body's entire system. Halasana helps nourish the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine by increasing circulation and suppleness, releases tension in the neck and throat, alleviates the accumulation of phlegm or mucus in the sinuses and respiratory system, and gradually assists in lengthening and regulating the breath.

Halasana has a calming, restorative effect on the sympathetic nervous system. It also assists in balancing the glandular secretions adrenaline and thyroxin, while also improving the elimination of toxins in the digestive and urinary tracts. Those with a tendency toward high blood pressure may find relief from hypertension in the pose. In the inverted position of Plow Pose, the brain is flushed with blood, promoting mental clarity and increased vitality.

Finishing Things Up
Traditionally, Halasana has been considered a finishing pose and is usually found near the end of an asana session. Finishing poses help prepare the practitioner for relaxation, pranayama, and meditation. As a transition from a movement-based practice to a sitting practice, Halasana taps into the body's natural processes of relaxation by pacifying the nerves, soothing the brain and heart, and regulating the breath. This develops the stillness and alertness necessary for pranayama and meditation.

There are many different approaches to the practice of Halasana, and beginners often wonder whether to support the pose with a prop, using folded blankets or foam pads under the shoulders and arms, or to practice "flat," using only a yoga mat. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. I prefer to teach the pose flat because this is how you develop a clear understanding of where the lift comes from in the pose.

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