Asana Column: Parsva Sarvangasana (Side Shoulderstand)

Parsva Sarvangasana may seem intimidating at first, but if you progress step by step, you can approach this pose safely and effectively.

By Aadil Palkhivala

In this magnificent pose, Parsva Sarvangasana (Side Shoulderstand), the shoulders and arms remain rooted to the earth while the legs extend toward the horizon, reaching out to touch infinity. This suggests the true purpose of yoga: to be grounded while simultaneously stretching into the vastness of the unexplored Self. To do yoga is to be fully rooted in the present while at the same time embracing the possibilities of the future--a state in which we are both being and becoming.

Many practitioners of yoga think of asanas as the whole of the art. Yet making them the end defeats the real purpose of yoga. To practice asanas and not reach beyond them is like having a top-of-the-line automobile that we run only on a treadmill in the garage. Although the vehicle works perfectly, it doesn't take us anywhere. Such a car was designed to be on the road, to transport us powerfully into our future, our unexplored potential.

In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali describes an ashtanga (eight-limbed) path of which asana is but the third part. Our work in yoga begins with yama (ethics toward others), five guidelines that help us create and live in a sane and peaceful society. Then comes niyama (prescribed observances), personal disciplines that help us to become more aware of ourselves. According to one traditional categorization of yoga's eight limbs, asa- na belongs with yama and niyama as part of bahiranga sadhana (external practices). Pranayama (breathing practices), pratyahara (sense withdrawal), and dharana (concentration) are known as antaranga sadhana (internal practices), while dhyana (meditation) and all the different levels of samadhi (union) are considered antaratma sadhana (inner-self practices), the work that involves connecting with the Spirit within.

The great Indian sage Sri Aurobindo once wrote, "When we have passed beyond knowings, then we shall have knowledge. Reason was the helper, [but] reason is [also] the bar." A similar shift in status from vehicle to roadblock can occur with the limbs of yoga. As we move along the way, the yamas, niyamas, and asanas remain important, but if we focus entirely on them and make them the end of our endeavor, they become a burden.

We are misguided in our efforts when we dwell on that which is intended merely to help take us to the next level. The primary purpose of the asanas is to make the body strong, stable, and able to withstand the energy of prana, the life force cultivated in the practice of pranayama. Pranayama, in turn, is used to strengthen the nervous system so that it can handle the power of the succeeding limbs of yoga, the withdrawal of the senses and the ever-deepening stages of meditation that lead to the greater purpose of yoga, the communication with the Self. When we practice with this understanding, the asanas serve as a bridge to infinity, to the vastness of the worlds inside. The yamas, niyamas, and asanas are the ground in which we root, while the remaining parts of the eightfold path are the limbs that rise up endlessly in all directions, seeking our true Self.

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