• Student Management System
  • Yoga Sequence Builder
  • About Olga
  • Private yoga sessions
  • Virtual Yoga Studio
  • Body Map
  • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Sign up
  • Log in

Sequence Wiz

Every yoga practice must have purpose, order and meaning

  • yoga for your body
  • yoga for your energy
  • yoga for your mind
  • How to design a practice
  • Sequencing basics
  • Teaching tips
  • Yoga “snacks”
  • teachers’ stories

How to sequence a class for the Shoulderstand

14
  • by olgakabel
  • in Sequencing basics · How to design a practice
  • — 14 Jan, 2014

Leslie Kaminoff brings up an excellent point in his video: yoga sequencing is not the same as choreography. In choreography the goal is artistic expression and choices are dictated by elegance and aesthetic appeal. Of course, it’s nice when a yoga class flows gracefully, but that is not he main goal. We do not practice yoga to look pretty while we are at it, but to get some benefit, whether it’s physical, physiological of psycho-emotional. The way we arrange poses and other elements in a yoga practice is determined by what we want to accomplish and how we can get there effectively with minimum risk to the body.

Let’s use the Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) to illustrate the process of class planning for maximum benefit and minimum risk. We’ll call it a 5-step sequence planner (it’s applicable to any other posture).

Step 1: Pose analysis

Shoulderstand is a risky posture because your neck is placed in a vulnerable position. It can strain the muscles, ligaments and nerves of the neck. To minimize the risk for you neck, you might choose to place a blanket under the upper back (as in Salamba Sarvangasana) or shift the weight from the neck more toward the upper back (as in Viparita Karani).

ShoulderstandFeaturedImage Whichever option you choose, it’s not safe to start with it and it is not safe to put it at the very end of the practice. To do Shoulderstand safely, you need to have strong upper back and lower back muscles, as well as core musculature. Traditional presentation of a yoga practice involving inversions (outlined by Sri Krishnamacharya) looks like a bell curve with Shoulderstand at the top. We do other poses to both prepare the neck and upper back for the load that they are about to bear and compensate for it. Shoulderstand-curveBCHow to prepare the body for Shoulderstand

Step 2: Preparation

It might take some time to develop the strength of the upper back, lower back and core musculature (not within a space of one class). We call it “long-term preparation” and it involves using other, less risky poses to strengthen the target areas.

“Short-term preparation” describes the choices you make within the space of one class leading up to the Shoulderstand. The minimum preparation that we have to do before attempting this pose includes:

  • Forward bends to stretch the lower back
  • Twists or lateral bends to warm up neck, shoulders and upper back
  • Some “legs up” pose to introduce the inversion effect
  • Bridge pose to stretch the upper back and neck right before the Shoulderstand

Contrary to popular belief, Halasana (Plow pose) is NOT a good preparation for Shoulderstand because it puts the neck and spinal extensors into a MORE strenuous position.

Shoulderstand-curvePreparation horizontalBar

Step 3: Assessment

It is important to include poses that will demonstrate whether or not the student is ready to do Shoulderstand on that particular day. We use Ardha Uttanasana and Salabhasana to access the strength of the neck, upper back and lower back. The student should be able to hold each one of them in good form for at least three breaths. If it’s not possible, Shoulderstand is not recommended.

Shoulderstand-curveAsessment horizontalBar

Step 4: Compensation

Compensation basically means taking steps to help the body return back to a neutral state. If you bend deeply one way, afterwards bend the other way to balance it out. A common compensation pose for Shoulderstand is Matsyasana (Fish pose), but it isn’t the best choice. Yes, Fish pose places the neck and upper back in the opposite position from the Shoulderstand. The problem is that you lock your upper body in place, and the muscles at the back of the neck stay passive. A better option is to MOVE the body in the opposite direction (instead of locking it there) to restore the contractile power of the muscles that were intensely stretched in Shoulderstand. In other words, we need to actively engage posterior neck muscles and upper back to increase blood flow to the area and do it in a way that is not as stressful and passive as Fish pose. Bhujangasana (Cobra pose) is an excellent choice. But Cobra pose is not enough; we also need to mobilize the arms that were locked in Shoulderstand with some arm-sweeping motion, and to rebalance the relationship between the neck, shoulders and upper back with some simple twist.

Shoulderstand-curveCompansation horizontalBar

Step 5: Reevaluation.

Once we look at the poses we’ve selected so far, we will notice that we need to include some other compensatory poses to neutralize the effect of the more difficult postures. For example, we usually put some sort of a forward bend after a deep back bend or a twist. In addition, we might need a bit more warming up before we attempt poses like Ardha Uttansana; and will also include Savasana at the end to rest and integrate.

Shoulderstand-curveFinalPractice

And there you have it. This is a basic outline of the Shoulderstand practice with adequate preparation, compensation and no random elements. Theoretically, this kind of thinking should go into the design of every yoga practice. Of course, even with all those elements in place, Shoulderstand is still not safe for everyone. Some contraindications include disc problems, high blood pressure, glaucoma, sinus blockage, obesity and general weakness in the upper back/shoulders/neck. Read more about risks and benefits

If you choose to teach and practice Shoulderstand, please be mindful of those risks and take care of yourself and your students!

EXAMPLE OF A BALANCED SHOULDERSTAND PRACTICE

horizontalBar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Tags: yoga sequenceAsanabest yoga posescompensation poseseffective yoga sequencinghome practiceplan a classShoulderstandyoga practiceYoga Safetyyoga sequencingyoga teacher

You may also like...

  • What’s in your toolbox? Yoga breathing techniques 8 Oct, 2014
  • Myths about benefits of yoga poses – how much truth is there? 14 Jan, 2015
  • Why do we do forward bends in yoga? 11 Mar, 2015
  • A smart way to relieve muscle tension 4 Jul, 2013

14 Comments

  1. Lourdes Ramos says:
    March 2, 2014 at 12:05 am

    Amazing place that you have, congratulations!

    Reply
    • olgakabel says:
      March 2, 2014 at 3:54 am

      Thank you Lourdes!

      Reply
  2. 6 reasons your yoga practice can become a pain in the neck - Sequence Wiz - create effective yoga sequences says:
    March 26, 2014 at 3:51 pm

    […] Attempting risky inversions. I would advise you against teaching advanced inversions to students that you don’t know, especially if they are older. The risks of the Shoulderstand and Headstand are very real and shouldn’t be discarded (read more about risks and benefits of the Shoulderstand). You can certainly minimize the risk if you prepare for the inversion and compensate appropriately. Check out some suggestions on how to sequence a practice for the Shoulderstand. […]

    Reply
  3. Liz Horton says:
    January 25, 2016 at 3:46 am

    Great article and very informative. But I did notice one point that I think may be a typo- In the diagram it says that shoulder should be in ‘internal rotation”. I believe that should be external rotation. Internal rotation would cause the chest to collapse which is the opposite action needed in Shoulderstand where chest should be lifted. I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. I love your website BTW!

    Reply
    • olgakabel says:
      January 26, 2016 at 2:47 am

      Hi Liz, thank you for your comment! There is no typo here, but I wonder if we are talking about different things. When you are in a Shoulderstand your shoulder is rotated internally because your elbow is behind you. It’s the same set up if you were doing warrior 2 for example with your arms extended back and fingers interlaced. In that position, if you wanted to rotate the shoulders outward you would turn the elbow creases and palms outward, away from each other. This joint position is not even possible in Shoulderstand. I think what you are talking about is rounding the shoulders forward that can happen and can facilitate the chest collapse, is that correct? Regardless of whether or not the shoulders are rounded forward, the joint itself will be in the internal rotation simply because of the placement of the upper arm. Does that make sense?

      Reply
  4. Ruth says:
    September 26, 2017 at 3:09 am

    I am so i glad I found this site, all articles are very detailed, and informative ! I love it so much and it is helping me alot in my training. Thank you !

    Reply
    • olgakabel says:
      September 26, 2017 at 9:05 am

      Thank you Ruth! So happy to hear that you find my posts useful. Welcome to our community!

      Reply
  5. Katrina says:
    March 22, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    Great post! Very helpful and informative, especially for someone learning to teach.

    Reply
  6. Amanda says:
    March 8, 2019 at 3:29 am

    This article is extremely helpful – thank you! But can you tell me what the letters P, A, and C next to the poses represent?

    Reply
    • olgakabel says:
      March 8, 2019 at 8:13 pm

      Hi Amanda, happy to hear that the post was useful for you! P means “preparation”, A means “assessment”, and C means compensation. I just use those to illustrate the points I am making in the article.

      Reply
  7. Justin Hamper says:
    August 28, 2019 at 12:49 pm

    Hi Olga, I found your article very helpful thank you but I am prompted to comment about your warning concerning high blood pressure as a contraindication. to shoulderstand practice. I looked at Mr Iyengar’s Light on Yoga and his view was that “Due to soothing effect of the pose on the nerves, those suffering from hypertension, irritation, shortness of temper, nervous breakdown and insomnia are relieved.” Have you any comments please? I presume that everyone is different and it is hard to generalise although I wonder if someone is so vulnerable with hypertension for the shoulderstand to be contraindicated how would one know? I appreciate that safety is paramount but who is best qualified decide what is beneficial or harmful because there is surely not a situation where one size fits all?

    Reply
  8. Helese Junice Smauldon says:
    September 18, 2019 at 10:41 am

    This is a very comprehensive understanding of yoga and poses and I thank you so much for posting this information. I just started practicing on my own using YouTube videos and what I remember from classes I have taken years ago. I’m learning so much from this blog.

    Reply
  9. Corina Elena Dìaz Sanabria says:
    October 23, 2020 at 9:06 am

    I always had this suspicious about fish pose, generally most of the yoga teachers invited to practice it after Sarvangasana and it is no comfortable for me at all. Today a found this website and solved it. Thank you.

    Reply
  10. Keerthi G says:
    September 10, 2021 at 3:22 am

    Amazing info , for peak.pose sequences

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Previous story 9 phrases to purge from your yoga instruction
  • Next story Balanced shoulderstand practice
  • Securely store and easily manage all your class and student records

  • Check out our redesigned home yoga practice app

  • Create effective yoga practices online using customizable stick figure images

  • Just added to Sequence Wiz YouTube channel

  • Unearth your inner joy

  • MAXIMIZE THE EFFECT OF YOUR PRACTICE

  • Reignite your home yoga practice

  • GET OUR BEST STORIES
    in a monthly newsletter
  • Popular posts

    • 20 superposes that carry maximum benefit with minimum risk

    • “Why is my balance not improving?”: 7 ways to troubleshoot your balance training

    • Three ways to protect your shoulders in your daily life and yoga practice

    • How do you know what a yoga pose is meant to accomplish?

    • Let go of the iHunch: Improve your posture yoga practice

    • How to lengthen your spine without strain

    • Four steps to minimize the stress placed on the intervertebral disks

    • Vital Vagus: What is the vagus nerve and what does it do?

    • 3 types of pain in the butt and what you can do about it

    • Too many asymmetrical poses can create sacroiliac joint issues

    • Rolling up from a standing forward bend can damage your spine

  • Archives

        © Copyright 2013-2020 Sequence Wiz - resources for yoga teachers and yoga enthusiasts | Privacy Policy