If you carry stress and tension in your upper back, neck and shoulders, the plow pose (pronounced huh-LAH-suh- nuh) may become one of your favorites. However, keep in mind that if you’re pregnant or have high blood pressure, check with your doctor first. Since halasana is an inverted pose, it should be avoided during your menstrual cycle.

Steps

1. Lie down on your back and rest for a minute before beginning. When you become inverted, a lot of blood will rush to your head. By lying down for a few moments it will allow your body to gently acclimate to the change in blood distribution.
2. When you’re ready, place your palms face down by your hips, and keep your legs pressed together. Take a deep breath in, and then as you exhale, use your abdominal muscles to raise your legs up and over your head. Take your feet all the way back as far as they can go, and rest your toes on the floor behind you. It’s nice when you’re a beginner to have a chair nearby on which to rest your legs, then as you are able to go deeper into the pose, you can gradually lower the feet to the floor. (You can also use a folded blanket under your upper back to ease the pressure on your neck. When you lie down on the floor, make sure that your head is resting on the floor and not on the blanket. Your head will be on the floor, and your upper back and shoulders will be elevated slightly, an inch or two, which will ease the compression on the neck.)
3. When you’re ready to come out, place your palms face down on the floor behind your back and slowly lower your body. Many people like to rest while hugging their knees into their chests, or with their knees bent and feet flat on the floor. If it takes a minute or two for your body to readjust, make sure to give it the time it needs to come out of this posture before moving on to another.
4. Try to rest into the pose for one to five minutes. Concentrate on breathing as deeply as you’re able.

Comments

You can place your hands onto your back or hips to help as you adjust into a comfortable position. Advanced students will want to work toward having a straight spine from shoulders to sacrum. But in the beginning, don’t push too hard. Take it slowly. You can always move deeper when it feels safe to do so.

There are many variations of halasana. Leave your hands supporting your back, or lay them flat on the floor pointing toward your toes, or even pointing away from your toes. Find the posture that feels good to you.

Benefits: Halasana is said to alleviate diseases of the joints. It stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands in the upper chest by flooding them with fresh, oxygenated blood. A regular practice will loosen and strengthen the back, especially the upper back and neck, and you’ll notice that your standing posture improves. Allowing so much blood easy access to the brain is great for mental fatigue. Esoterically, plow pose helps to stimulate and open the heart and throat chakras.

The Spinal Twist is one of the best intermediate-level postures for maintaining flexibility in the spine and throughout the body. The posture is designed to turn your spine three times, but it is also an amazing posture for stretching the lower back and buttocks. If you retain and store energy in your buttocks area, this is one of the best postures for releasing the tension. It also helps with Restless Leg Syndroms (RLS) and can help RLS sufferers release tension in the legs.

Steps

1. Sit on the floor with your legs bent in front of you.
2. Drop your right knee to the floor and place your left foot over (to the far side of) your right knee. Make sure your right foot is placed tightly against your buttocks.
3. Place your right elbow to the left side of your left knee and touch your left foot with your right hand (keeping your elbow in place).
4. Place your left hand behind you in the direction of your left shoulder.
5. Some older versions of this posture show the head turned back in the direction of the left foot, adding one more spine twist to the posture. Most modern versions of this posture turn the head in the direction of the left hand.

Comments

Hold this pose for five full breaths or longer. It is important that you release your body from this position slowly and with mindfulness. Switch the legs and repeat the posture for the other side of the body.