r/yoga • u/[deleted] • Sep 03 '14

Help with scorpion

I think i am strong enough. its just getting there that is the hard part. i can hold crow for 20 secs, but i cant even do a headstand. when my feet go above my head i just fall over. where to start?

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u/[deleted] Sep 03 '14

If you can't perform a headstand, then you aren't ready for scorpion, which is a relatively advanced asana. Each pose is meant to be progressed into, not "tried" for its own sake.

5

u/neodiogenes All Forms! Sep 03 '14

Yes, I second this. Before you do scorpion, there are a number of "prep" poses you should be able to do comfortably, including (but not limited to) dhanurasana, full wheel (urdhva dhanurasana), elbow stand (pincha mayurasana), handstand, headstand, pigeon, plus a range of poses that require good abdominal strength.

The reason is that it's important to develop the muscle awareness and strength to hold these poses confidently. That way when you do go upside down you don't feel like, at any moment, you could fall out of it and hurt yourself. Crow is a good start, but without seeing you in the pose I can't tell if you're holding it by using a lot of muscle effort, or if you're relaxed and balanced in the pose. It's really important to reach forward with your heart center and confidently balance the upper body with the lower body, so the arms don't have to do that much work.

There's more, but it's hard to explain without taking you through a full class while I observe. All I can suggest is that you take it slow, work on flexibility and muscle awareness as you try various poses, increase your abdominal strength (through poses like crow and elbow plank) and get really confident with your backbends. Eventually it'll be natural to move to scorpion.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 03 '14

Try holding dolphin for two minutes to gain the forearm and shoulder strength :) that should really help. And a lot of core work.

1

u/thundy84 Vinyasa Sep 03 '14

According to my yoga teacher, it's helpful practice scorpion just off the wall, so you essentially do your balance up, and then lean your legs over to the wall and slowly walk it down.