Advanced Practice: Wrists, Hands, Shoulders, and Breath Free (Pranayama and Inversions)

Disclaimer

Advanced practices are for those who have been attending classes regularly for five years or more, who have a consistent and regular home practice, who are able to balance comfortably and safely in Head Stand in the middle of the room for 5 minutes or more, who are able to kick up safely into Hand Stand against the wall on their own and/or who are able to straighten their arms in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose). In these practices, the information is more technical and begins to incorporate themes of a more esoteric nature. Always seek out the guidance of a qualified teacher before you attempt new or challenging poses, especially inversions and Head Stand, so that they may instruct you in the safest way to approach them. There is no substitute for instruction from a seasoned teacher.

About The Practice

This advanced practice behind with Shavasana (Corpse Pose), breath awareness and reclined pranayama to free the ribcage, shoulder girdle and arms. It follows with seated pranayama in which the practice is to maintain that freedom in the upright. After that comes an inversions practice with an awareness of the breath and organization of the arms, shoulders, back and chest.

Practice Tips

• Send the flesh of your forearms towards your fingers as you send the flesh of your upper arm towards your shoulders.
• Widen the heels of your hands and the mounds of your thumbs to create freedom in your wrists.
• Send the backs of your hands towards your fingertips and the backs of your wrists to your elbows to free the backs of your wrists.
• Soften and widen your armpits.
• Soften and widen your collarbones and shoulder blades and allow them to move with your arms.
• Allow your breath to be free. This means allow it to be unheld and unforced, even in pranayama and inversions she the turnover of your breath will be greater than at rest.

Sequence

Shavasana (Corpse Pose) Cycle backs of hands supported with bankers, tennis balls within palms:

1. Shavasana (Corpse Pose) [5 min]
2. Breath awareness: three-dimensional rise and fall of ribcage [5 min]
3. Ujjayi Pranayama 2 (Victorious Breath 2) extended exhalation [5 min]
4. Ujjayi Pranayama 4 (Victorious Breath 4) extended inhalation and exhalation [5 min]
5. Ujjayi Pranayama 4 (Victorious Breath 4) without tennis balls, fingers in Vishnu Mudra (Vishnu’s Seal) [5 min]

Any comfortable seated position:

1. Ujjayi Pranayama 8 (Victorious Breath 8) extended inhalation and exhalation [5 min]
2. Nadi Shodhana Ib (Channel Purifying Breath 1b) non-dominant hand in Vishnu Mudra (Vishnu’s Seal) [3 min]
3. Nadi Shodhana Ib (Channel Purifying Breath 1b) non-dominant hand in Vishnu Mudra (Vishnu’s Seal) [3 min]

Shavasana (Corpse Pose) [5 min]

Uttanasana (Intense Stretch Pose) backs of hands resting on blocks

Chest Opener elbows at ledge, block between hands

Shirshasana (Head Stand) Prep forearms on food, block between palms, walking in

Salamba Shirshasana 1 (Head Stand 1):

1. Non-dominant interlock [3 min]
2. Dominant interlock [3 min]

Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand Prep) block between hands, forearms belted shoulder width, body as in Downward Facing Dog

PIncha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand) against the wall, kicking up with secondary leg

PIncha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand) against the wall, kicking up with primary leg

Adho Mukha Shvanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose)

Adho Mukha Vrkshasana (Hand Stand) against the wall, kicking up with secondary leg

Adho Mukha Vrkshasana (Hand Stand) against the wall, kicking up with primary leg

Setu Bandha (Bridge Pose) high blocks under sacrum

Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) Cycle:

1. Salamba Sarvangasana 1 (Shoulder Stand 1)
2. Salamba Sarvangasana 2 (Shoulder Stand 2)
3. Halasana (Plough Pose) with arm variations

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) one blanket under shoulders, feet on chair at wall

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) one blanket under shoulders, feet on floor, legs bent

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) one blanket under shoulders, feet on floor, legs straight

Shavasana (Corpse Pose) blanket under head, bolster under knees

About Yoga: Art+Science

This post originally appeared on my former blog, Yoga: Art+Science, a passion project that I ran from 2004 to 2014 that accumulated more than 1000 posts and articles. It appears here as part of a project to revisit all that material and update it to make it fresh and relevant to a modern yoga practice.

If you enjoyed this practice, I’d love to share my approach to yoga with you. I hold weekly classes online and new students are very welcome. Hope to see you there!