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

Reaching into Infinity

In asana practice, no posture better embodies and teaches this simultaneous rooting in the present while stretching into infinity than Parsva Sarvangasana, one of the most beautiful asanas in yoga. As the legs reach powerfully, the arms and shoulders ground and the chest receives a mighty opening. The whole body balances on the fulcrum of the sacrum, and an amazing power is generated as you extend out of your center in both directions.

This dual extension creates heat and energy in the body, forcing prana into the cells of the pelvis and abdomen. In very few poses are the legs completely unsupported as they reach toward the horizon; in most asanas, they're either rooted or inverted. In Parsva Sarvangasana, we gain an awareness of the legs that we cannot get from any other pose. Additionally, it requires a powerful lift of energy from the pelvis toward the heart center. Parsva Sarvangasana creates a connection between the most powerful physical energy emanator in the body (the hand) and the most sacred bone, the center of balance (the sacrum). The body weight falling through the sacrum onto the hand creates a very powerful grounding, charging the sacrum with the hand's energy, which can then rise up through the body.

A Safe Foundation

To come into Parsva Sarvangasana properly, Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) must be firmly established first. Sirsasana (Headstand) is considered the king of all poses, and Sarvangasana the queen. It is said that the king governs the kingdom, while the queen rules the kingdom. This is due to the power of the feminine nature being the power of nurturing and calming. Sarvangasana should always be done with these qualities in mind.

Frequently I see students performing Sarvangasana aggressively, pushing their spines up toward the legs and jamming their chins into their chests. This causes great tension in the nervous system. Whereas Sirsasana should be done with intensity, focus, and power, Sarvangasana should be done with quiet, receptivity, and patience. Then the nervous system will feel clear and focused from Sirsasana while also feeling calm and relaxed from doing Sarvangasana.

Before doing Sarvangasana, prepare a support for your shoulders and upper arms with something firm and stable, such as folded blankets or closed-cell foam pads. (For most people, the ideal height is between 1 and 3 inches. You may need to experiment to find the right height for your body.) Wrap the blankets or foam pads in a sticky mat. Lie with your torso on this support but with your head on the floor.

A brief safety note concerning the use of props in Sarvangasana and its variations: In Shoulderstand, stiffness in the shoulder muscles pulls the elbows away from each other. But if you force the elbows to remain shoulder width apart--either by grounding them on a sticky mat or by strapping the arms in place--without also using the sticky mat to immobilize the upper arms right at the shoulder, the tight shoulder muscles may over time pull the upper arms out of the sockets and damage the joints. As long as your sticky mat extends up the whole length of the upper arm and under the shoulder, you may use a yoga belt to prevent your elbows from splaying out to the side. But do not tighten the belt beyond the range of motion you can achieve by your own muscular effort. If you do, you again risk displacement of the upper arm in the shoulder joint. Also note that you should never use a belt around the upper arms in Parsva Sarvangasana or Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose); if you lose your balance in these poses with a belt on, you risk serious damage to your wrists.

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