Short on Time? Sirsasana and Sarvangasana!

Salamba Sirsasana (headstand) and Salamba Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) are sometimes referred to as the king and queen of asana. These inversions are considered some of the most important poses, and have been widely lauded as having lots of benefits for us.

Recently, one of my teachers said – if you have little time for practice, then practice these two poses (and savasana of course). Yesterday I had a really long day – one of those days where my motivation in work was really low, and yet I had a lot to do! I returned home and didn’t have much time; maximum 40 minutes. Normally, if I’m short on time I focus on some standing poses (my current syllabus has lots of standing poses!) or maybe a short restorative sequence, but I remembered that advice, and thought – ok, sirsasana and sarvangasana!  I did squeeze in some additional preparatory poses though…. Here is the sequence:

1. Tadasana
2. Trikonasana
3. Parsvottanasana
4. Prasarita Padottanasana
5. Sirsasana
6. Chatush padasana
7. Salamba sarvangasana
8. Savasana

Some brief notes…. I did parsvottanasana with my hands supported underneath my shoulders on bricks and held the concave back version of the pose before completing the pose. I also held the concave back version of prasarita padottanasana before walking my hands back and releasing my head. Sirsasana I did supported at the wall (with my back towards the wall). Neck problems, menstruation, backache, headache, migraine, high blood pressure, or if you haven’t practised the pose with a teacher before – then I would suggest supta baddhakonasana instead. (Here is a nice video if you want to work on sirsasana a little more; a lovely explanation on setting the base of the pose well).

At the moment, I teach one pose a week in my teacher’s beginners class. Next week it’s chatush padasana, so I spent some time in this pose and repeated it quite a few times, thinking about the actions in the pose and how I could communicate the key points to a class – along with possible problems that people have with it. I practiced with a belt around the ankles to grasp with my hands, with my arms bent at the elbows and forearms perpendicular to the floor, without any support, and with my shoulders on two foam pads (head and neck free). Here’s another interesting blog post on the pose.

I then did salamba sarvangasana which I held for around 5 minutes. If for any reason you aren’t performing sarvangasana, then setubhanda sarvangasana on support would be a nice alternative.

Finally – don’t forget savasana. The most important of all! Hope my scribbled stick men make sense – next time, pictures!

X