Inversions and shoulders

Getting it right upside down


I am a yoga teacher and a meditator, not a physio, so this is not meant to be a medical introduction. What I have learnt about inversions is that you require preparation, sometimes a really patient approach to strengthening your upper body and improving flexibility.

A few years ago I got really caught up with learning to do pincha mayurasana - the forearm balance. I work intensively without really understanding that I did not yet have the shoulder strength or flexibility. I injured my shoulders being in a rush and it tooks months to get them back to normal. I can do pinch comfortably these days - but the message is - slow, steady, grow your capacity and don't be in a rush with inversions.

Pincha mayurasana is shown to the left here.

Of all the inversions discussed here, pincha is the most stable as you have the full length of your forearm on the floor and you can use your hands and elbows to give you micro-adjustments. Headstands come second as you have your head on the floor and you are using your full forearms. The inversion with the least support is the handstand.

However, the strength aspect is not the same as the skill aspect. Pincha, though it is probably the easiest to achieve stable balance, requires a great deal of shoulder strength and the shoulders must be able to align over the elbows to get a stacking effect.

The headstand is the position with the greatest ease of stacking. Your head is down and you have three points of contact with the floor. Headstand actually requires a minimal amount of strength. The most significant strength element is your core and there is virtually not extra need for flexibility.

You will see in some photos or demonstrations that pincha is done with substantial back bending. This is the case here on the right hand photo. If you have a strong core and a very flexible back, you may want to explore this process of dropping your legs over your head. It is a formal part of yoga. For beginners this is not recommended. Get used to the straight up and down version, strongly engaging your core and pushing your feet towards the ceiling. That will allow you to work on shoulder strength and flexibility without risk to your spine.

With all of the inversions, it really helps to have a qualified instructor guiding you and you may well want to start with a wall behind you. That removes the fear of flipping right over and it can take some of the weight and strain off the early efforts.

A great technique I learnt with pincha is to start by holding a block against the wall. This helps brace your arms. and keep your forearms in alignment.

For headstand one of the critically important technique issues is not to jump into headstand. Anyone who you see trying to jump into headstand does not know what they are doing and are seriously risking injury.

For headstand, you want to go in slowly and come out slowly. A good way to practice is to come down onto all fours. You touch your fingers to the opposite elbows to measure how far your elbows should be from one another. You clasp your hands together, creating a triangle with your forearms. Your head will fit snuggly against your cupped hands. You really need to be on the crown of your head, not the forehead, and not too far back. Again, this is why the teacher helps. Meditate on the inside of the cupped hands. A great time to let go of expectations or ego. Then tuck your chin in an place the head into the cradle of the hands.

Tuck the toes under and come up onto the balls of the feet, progressively sending your tail up to the sky. Head is down, butt is up. Walk you feet closer and closer to your elbows and head, until you are in a sharp jackknife position. Wait and contemplate this. Figure out your grounding. Slowly you can bring one or both knees into your body, detaching from the floor. At first there is no need to extend your legs. That is already a great practice with headstand. Later you can learnt to take one leg up at a time. Always draw your belly button in - a tight core is essential to a safe headstand.