shoulderstand

INVERSIONS are coveted among yogis. Yoga is one of the few systems of health that suggest you regularly turn yourself upside down for extended periods of time. The health claims are astonishing: it reverses aging, increases blood flow to the brain, regulates pituitary and pineal glands, relieves constipation, tranquilizes and mellows the nervous system, and the list goes on. Responses vary from person to person, but a regular practice of turning upside down to one degree or another is soothing and balancing, and it can be a necessary step for many to stop their chattering minds prior to meditation.

When I went to Pune, India, I had seven years of arduous practice under my belt. It was 1987 and I was on my way to study yoga with the master himself B.K.S. Iyengar. I thought I was ready, but I was secretly worried about two basic postures: Reclined Hero’s Pose and Shoulderstand. Maybe I could hide in the corner or go to the bathroom when these poses were addressed. Fat chance! Geeta, Iyengar’s daughter, had me demonstrating Reclined Hero’s Pose on the first day. And B.K.S. Iyengar looked at me with massive disapproval during Shoulderstand. To my delight he manually adjusted my pose making it light and aligned.