YOGA'S ROYAL COUPLE

The Shoulderstand is the queen of postures and the headstand is the king, the yogis say--the former nurtures the body and the latter celebrates power and consciousness. These concepts will resonate with anyone who has had a lot of experience with both postures. Together they make a team. The headstand needs balance, and the shoulderstand, with its variations and sequelae, makes the best complete practice for providing that balance." (Coulter 499)

"[Headstand is] one of the most important Yogic asanas. It is the basic posture...The ancient books have called Sirsasana [Headstand] the king of all asanas and the reasons are not hard to find...A country cannot prosper without a proper king...to guide it; so also the human body cannot prosper without a healthy brain...Regular and precise practice of Sirsasana develops the body, desciplines the mind and widens the horizons of the spirit. One becomes balanced and self-reliant in pain and pleasure, loss and gain, shame and fame and defeat and victory.

The importance of Sarvangasana [Shoulderstand] cannot be over-emphasized. It is one of the greatest boons conferred on humanity by our ancient sages. Sarvangasana is the Mother of asanas. As a mother strives for harmony and happiness in the home, so this asana strives for the harmony and happiness of the human system...It is no over-statement to say that if a person regularly practices Sarvangasana he will feel new vigour and strength, and will be happy and confident. New life will flow into him, his mind will be at peace and he will feel the joy of life." (LoY 179, 189, 212-13)

Nearly all major lineages of yoga recognize some variations of inverted postures, although they place emphasis on them differently. For Iyengar, there is nothing more profoundly superior to one's practice than the coupling of Sirsasana and Sarvangasana. Individually, they are essential and beneficial. But when paired together, their majestic forces have the power to regulate, influence, and affect change in a way unrivaled by any other aspect of practice.

I strongly encourage you to read the sections related to these poses within LoY if you haven't already. If you have, do it again. Sirsasana and its variations are on pages 179-206, and Sarvangasana and its variations are on pages 205-237. While we won't experience all the different variations of either pose within the parameters of DK, there are useful and interesting bits of information, hints, tips, etc. interspersed throughout both sections making it worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the entirety of each one.

Beyond what is explicitly stated in the book (and, by the way, there are tons of other readily available sources of information regarding how and why to practice these asana--books, magazines, videos, blogs, etc. Don't feel limited to only what's presented in LoY.), there are a few things worth mentioning and understanding in order to incorporate these poses into your practice as effectively as possible.

Lots of people are surprised to learn that Iyengar encourages students to practice the inversion cycles at the beginning of practice. It's pretty typical in other traditions to save inversions for the second half, or even the last third or quarter, of practice, and they have their own reasons and explanations for doing so. For Iyengar, including inversions in one's practice is crucial, and if they are practiced first (or at least early) you are much more likely to have both sufficient energy and time to practice them well. Sometimes (often times), whatever we save for the end of practice suffers in quality because we're feeling tired and/or hurried. Rushing, lessening, or excluding inversions because you waited too long to practice them is, according to Iyengar, a devastating disservice to you and your practice.

Practice them first and practice them well!

Even better: if you are in fact feeling weary, unfocused, or short-on-time, then this pair may be exactly what you need. There are so many different reasons for feeling like a full-length, full-spectrum practice isn't appropriate on any given day, but that shouldn't keep you from practicing. (By "full-length" I mean 60-90 minutes, or more. And by "full-spectrum" I mean a practice that includes a few poses from all/most of the major categories of asana: standing, seated, reclining, arm-balancing, hip-opening, forwardbending, backbending, twisting, etc.) Something is better than nothing, a short practice is better than no practice.

And, while other lineages may provide a different answer to this question--What should I practice when I'm feeling limited by time and/or energy?--Iyengar's answer is going to be, "Sirsasana and Sarvangasana". Why that is can be answered in a number of ways, but one reason is that, when both cycles are practiced in their entirety (or nearly so), the poses provide almost all of the most important physical and physiological benefits that one would otherwise gain in a full-spectrum practice: they provide both strength-building and mobility-enhancing qualities; they tone and open the shoulders, chest, and upper-back; they condition the core; they open the hips and stretch the legs; they include forwardbending, backbending, and twisting components; and they're balancing poses. That is to say, they are a self-contained full-spectrum practice. And one need not exert a tremendous amount of energy nor spend a great amount of time to experience that.

Something else worth mentioning is the fact that these two asana really are a team, and should be practiced as a pair as they balance each other very well. Sirsasana generally has uplifting, stimulating qualities, while Sarvangasana generally has calming, soothing qualities. And practicing one without the other can confuse the nervous system. Upward moving (Sirsasana) and downward moving (Sarvangasana) energies each need their opposites in order to find equilibrium. Mr. Iyengar makes note of this in LoY. He says, "Sirsasana and its cycle should always be followed by Sarvangasana and its cycle. It has been observed that people who devote themselves to Sirsasana alone without doing the Sarvangasana poses are apt to lose their temper over trifling things and become irritated quickly. The practice of Sarvangasana coupled with Sirsasana checks this trait" (189).

Again, different lineages and different practitioners may have different experiences of this. And that's fine. This isn't the only way to practice these poses, and this isn't the only source of valuable information regarding their forms and functions. This is just one (albeit one which is highly esteemed and trustworthy) philosophy, and there are certainly others which are "equally right". So much more could (and should) be said about this couple of asana. For instance, we haven't talked at all yet about how to practice them, only why, nor have we mentioned yet their respective cautions and contraindications. The message for now is that they are powerful and important. They are (generally) appropriate for (many/most) beginners, but they are challenging to master. They should be respected, but not feared. To turn your world upside down, both literally and figuratively, is to embrace, as well as to play with, reality in a way that is life-giving, confidence-building, and enriching.

Let feet-off-the-floor be just as normal as feet-firmly-grounded!

"If Sarvangasana is the Mother, then Sirsasana may be regarded as the Father of all asanas. And just as both parents are necessary for peace and harmony in a home, so the practice of both these asanas is essential to keep the body healthy and the mind tranquil and peaceful." (LoY 189)

Coulter, H. David. Anatomy of Hatha Yoga: A Manual for Students, Teachers, and Practitioners. Honesdale: Body and Breath, Inc. 2001. Print.