Salamba Sarvangasana on the Chair

Salamba Sarvangasana in Chair

Supported shoulder stand in chair

Inverted pose

                                             

Key Benefits

• Panacea for most common ailments
• Bathes endocrine organs, ductless glands in blood- thyroid and parathyroid venous blood flows to heard wit h no strain
• Healthy blood circulates around neck and chest, suffering from breathlessness, palpitation, asthma, bronchitis, throat ailments get relief
• Nerves are soothed, headaches disappear
• Eradicates common colds and nasal disturbances
• Hypertension, irritation, shortness of temper nervous breakdown, insomnia are relieved
• Bowels move freely constipation vanishes, system is freed of toxins one feels full of of energy
• Recommended for urinary disorder,uterine displacement, menstrual troubles, piles and hernia
• Relieve epilepsy, low vitality, anemia
• Feel new vigor and strength and be happy and confident, new lift will flow to him
• Activates abdominal organs, relieves suffering from stomach and intestinal ulcers, severe pains from abdomen and colitis

How to get into Salamba Sarvangasana 

1. Have chair near the wall. Sit in chair with knees over the bar of the chair. 
2. Hook your ankles against the bar of the chair and start to lower yourself down the chair curling your back as you go down letting your hands go down the bar of the chair till you touch the bolster or blankets.  
3. Roll your shoulders under and take your arms to the inside back bar of the chair
4. Straighten your legs
5. To come out lower your feet to the bar of the chair and slide down the seat of the chair till only your legs rest on the seat of the chair. 

Key Point

1. Press the outer shoulders down and move them towards the elbow as you take the shoulder blades in and broaden the chest.
2. Coil and lift the armpit chest
3. Roll the thighs from outside in, take the thighs back and take the tailbone in as you extend  the inner legs to the inner heels.
4. Lengthen the sides of the chest from the armpits to the hips and the the outer hips in.
5. Be sure the extensionof the legs reaches the feet  and open the mounds of the toes.
6. Relax the neck, face and jaw as you look forwards the chest.

Modifications:

• lower the lower the legs so they rest on the wall. 

Viparita Dandasana

Viparita Dandasana

Inverted staff pose

Backbend pose

Key Benefits

• Keeps the spine sound and healthy while chests expands fully.
• One also feels feels the effects of Sirsasana
• Relieves pain in Coccyx region of spine
• Soothing effect on mind, so the emotionally disturbed find it a great boon

How to get into Viparita Dandasana

1. Open a chair place the bar towards the wall and put a mat or blanket on top.  
2. Sit facing the the wall walking the legs in one by one. Belt the thighs. 
3. Sit in the chair so the tailbone is as close to the back edge of the chair. Hold onto the top of the chair.  
4. Slide down the arm of the chair as you bring the torso over the front seat of the chair where the tips of the shoulder blades are barely off the chair.  
5. Extend the legs straight towards the wall either so the heel touches the floor or to a brick. The chair may slide away from the wall.  
6.  Bring the hands under the chair taking hold of the back bar of the chair and rolling the shoulders under turning the palms around.
7. Stay here for 3-5 min. 
8. Release the hands and bring them to the front bar of the chair. Bend the legs. Take an inhalation lift with the chest and come back to a seated position. Rest here. Remove the legs one by one. 

Key Point

1. Roll the shoulders out and under expanding the chest and opening the diaphragm. 
2. Press the heels onto the floor or bricks and move the tailbone to the hamstrings. 
3. Roll the thighs together. 

Modifications:

• Lift the feet higher so they are in line with the thighs. 
• Don't bring the arms under the chair.
• Rest the head on a bolster.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

Downward facing tree pose

Inverted pose

Key Benefits

• develops the body harmoniously. It strengthens the shoulders, arms and wrists and extands the chest fully

How to get into Urdhva Hastasana

1. Stand a 6-8 inches away from the wall come into Urdhva Hastasana and then to Uttanasana with hands shoulder width wide with the palms turn out away from one another.
2. Step the left leg back and kick one leg up followed by the other placing the legs against the wall.
3. Hold this position for as long as you can.
4. Come down one leg at a time

Key Points

1. Keep the arms straight and firm. 
2. Press into your hands and extend the whole body upwards towards the ceiling. 
3. Keep the legs fully stretched toes pointing up lifting the head up as far as you can. 

Modifications:

• Step on a chair then kick up against the wall
• Half hand stand
• sit against the wall, mark where your hips are then place your hands there. Walk your feet up a wall till they are parallel to the floor. Hold that position for a few breathes 

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Downward facing dog pose

Standing pose

Key Benefits

• Removes fatigue and brings back lost energy
• Good for runners who get tired after a hard race, sprinters will develop speed and lightness in the legs.
• Relieves pain and stiffness in the heels and helps soften calcaneal spurs
• Strengthens ankles and makes legs shapely
• Eradicate stiffness in region of should blades arthritis of shoulder joins is relieved
• Abdominal muscles are drawn towards spine and strengthened
• Diaphragm is lifted heard rate is slowed down
• Rejuvenates brain cells, and relieving fatigue
• Good for High Blood Pressure

How to get into Adho Mukha Svanasana

1. Place thumb and index finger at the wall and spread the other fingers, step your feet back, press your hands into the wall and floor crease to bring your buttocks towards the ceiling.
2. Step your feet towards your hands and come up.

Key Point

1. Press the index and thumb into the wall and roll the triceps together. As you continue that action bring the shoulder blades together and move the torso towards the crown of the buttocks.  Relax the head. 
2. Lift the kneecaps and press the top center thigh back so much that the heels come to the floor. Now lift the inner heel to the inner knee and groin to the crown of the buttocks, as youlengthen theout knee ligament and  roll the groins from the inside out.
3. Contineu to press into the hands and move the torso towards the crown of the buttocks as you press into the heel and lift the inner leg up to the crown of the buttocks. 

Modifications:

• If can’t put hands on floor in uttanasana, bend knees put hands on floor then walk feet abck
• Place heels on a wall if can’t press into ground
• Place crown of head on pillow
• Hands at wall

Urdhva Hastasana

Urdhva Hastasana

Upward hand pose

Standing pose

Key Benefits

• One can feel lighter in the body and mind
• acquires agility
• For an alert body and alert mind and brain

How to get into Urdhva Hastasana

1. Stand in Tadasana with arms extended by the sides, palms facing the thighs, shoulders rolling back as well as down.
2. Exhale, extend the arms straight forward and above the head the upper arm should be in in line with the ears, palms facing each other

Key Point

1. Extend from the inner arms to the inner wrists
2. Squeeze the biceps and triceps together
3. Keep the shoulders away from the ears and spread the collarbones

Modifications:

• lower the arms so they are straight

Yoga and Depression

Yoga has many benefits one for me is the help with depression. There have been many studies done with Iyengar Yoga and depression. Specifically

- A Yoga intervention for young adults with elevated symptoms of depression
       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15055096
- Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder with Iyengar Yoga and Coherent Breathing: A Randomized controlled Dosing Study
       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5717996/
- Yoga as a Complementary Treatment of Depression: Effects of Traits and Moods on Treatment Outcome
       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2176141/

All of the studies showed yoga to a promising intervention and cost effective, and self reported symptoms were decreased by participants.

I have found this true in myself. When I am practicing yoga at least 2-3 times a week I feel better, I am a better mom and I feel I can stabilize my mood better. Yoga is more than a practice for me, it is more than an escape from being a mom it is literally a life saving practice that I hold onto and I rank high on my list of things that will take my depression away, right along with scriptures, prayer, and medicine. I hope one day that I will be able to take medicine off that list. That is my goal.

To help me attain that goal I work harder on the other things that help my depression and happily I have amazing Yoga teachers that have deep knowledge of this subject.

Marla Apt- Intermediate Senior II teacher highlighted 5 poses that have "depression-fighting elements"
These 5 poses are
- Urdhva Hastasana in Tadasana (upward arms in mountain pose)
- Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand)
     or  Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog)
- Viparita Dandasana in Chair (chair backbend)
- Salamba Sarvangasana in chair (Chair shoulderstand)
- Setubandha Sarvangasana over crossed bolsters (supported bridge pose over crossed bolsters)

I'll post how to do these poses over the coming weeks. But I am glad to have these poses to add to my sequence.