Halasana (Plough Pose)

<h2> Halasana (Plough Pose)</h2>From the word "hala" - plough, which the body resembles in this pose. The asana is part of Sarvangasana and a continuation of it. A brief description of Halasana 1. Come into Sarvangasana.2. Lower the legs over the head from their vertical position, taking the chest and the hips slightly back in order to maintain the stretch of the body.3. Exhale, do not bend the knees, stretch the legs still further and place the toes on the floor.4. Take the hands off the hips and stretch them out beyond the head. Do not bend the elbows. The palms face the ceiling.5. Stay in this final position for 3-5 minutes, breathing normally. Increase the duration gradually. While there:(1) stretch the trunk up towards the ceiling;(2) tighten the knees so that there is a considerable space between the face and the thighs;(3) press the toes firmly into the floor and stretch the hamstrings so that the thighs, the buttocks and the back are lifted.6. Take the buttocks back, bend the legs and lift the feet up.7. Come down smoothly, keeping the palms alongside the body. Stretch the legs out. Special notes: (1) Those who are on the heavy side and cannot place the feet on the floor, or cannot hold the trunk upright once the feet are down, should use the technique described below:(a) place a stool 45-60 cm high beside the head;(b) lie flat on your back;(c) bend the knees and bring the thighs towards the abdomen; take a few breaths in and out;(d) exhale and lift the buttocks and the back off the floor; keep the hands on the back;(e) place the toes on the stool; keep the arms stretched out beyond the head or back, or take hold of the edge of the blanket and press down with the hands to lift the trunk;(f) stay like this for 3-5 minutes, breathing normally;(g) place the hands on the back, bend the knees and take the buttocks back;(h) lift the feet off the chair and come down carefully and smoothly.(2) In conditions where there is a great deal of fat around the abdomen or the hips, and also when there are headaches, migraine, laboured breathing, high blood pressure, heavy bleeding, or when the nerves need rest, Halasana should be done in this way, with the eyes closed. The thighs rest fully on the stool. This relieves the pressure on the diaphragm and the feeling of strain in the head. If your chest is heavy, it helps to spread a blanket on the floor as described for Sarvangasana. The arms should point towards the feet.(3) When your skill increases and you are able to practise the full Halasana, both arms should be stretched out behind the back, away from the feet. To begin with, take hold of the edge of the blanket and stretch the arms. In this position the shoulders are extended and the chest is broadened.(4) If blood rushes to the head, do Halasana using a support. Halasana must not be done in cases of: high blood pressure;arteriosclerosis;injury to the cervical vertebrae or a displaced intervertebral disc;pain in the cervical spine and the shoulder girdle;otitis;sinusitis;ophthalmia;migraine or severe headaches;menstruation;pregnancy;stomach upset;diseases of the thyroid gland (goitre), the heart and the spleen. A detailed description of Halasana Halasana and Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) have a similar effect. They act beneficially on the internal organs and the glands, improve the working of the respiratory system and relieve headaches, high blood pressure and insomnia. B. K. S. Iyengar promises that thanks to these two poses "joy and energy will pour into your life in an endless stream". Unfortunately this fine pair is contraindicated for anyone suffering from hypertension, glaucoma or neck problems. Refrain from inverted poses during menstruation as well. If you are a beginner, or have had a long break from practice, do these asanas under the guidance of an experienced teacher.Even if you are used to doing Halasana on a bare floor, we would still advise you to use props. The cervical vertebrae need delicate handling, and a support is necessary to avoid excess pressure on them. If you place the shoulders on a stack of blankets, the throat stays soft and the back of the neck stays long. What is more, if your shoulder girdle is not open, standing on the shoulders will not be at all easy: you will not be able to draw the upper back in, it will keep sinking towards the floor, and you will have to use all the strength of your arms to hold the back upright. A support will help you avoid unnecessary strain and lengthen upwards better.Three dense, thick blankets are usually used. Fold them so that you have a rectangle of 60x90 cm, and stack them one on top of another. The shoulders should rest on the edge of the blanket where the fold line is. To understand what the position of the body in Plough Pose should be, do Dandasana (Staff Pose). Sit on the floor and stretch the legs out in front of you. Lean the trunk slightly forward, then return to the starting position. Roll the thighs inwards and press them down to the floor. Work the feet, pushing the heels away from you.  <table><tr><td>correct Spread the palms on the back</td><td>incorrect Do not push the chin and the sternum towards each other</td></tr></table>Place the fingertips on the floor on either side of the pelvis and draw the shoulder blades in. Lift the upper part of the sternum, but do not push its base forward - that will compress the upper abdomen and the lower back. On the contrary, direct the base of the sternum slightly inwards and down, towards the navel. You may get the feeling that the chest is not open enough. But if you take the upper part of the sternum up, bringing it perpendicular to the floor, you will at once feel a lightness in the head and the heart.Lower the chin towards the top of the chest, but do not push the two towards each other. Do not let the head drop; keep lengthening the whole spine upwards. Hold this position. Take the arms out to the sides and bend them slightly at the elbows, palms facing up. Now rotate the arms outwards so that the palms turn towards the wall behind you and the thumbs turn towards the floor. Stay like this for a minute. Feel how the rotation of the arms helps to draw the shoulder blades in and down while the sternum lifts.To open the chest better and lengthen the shoulder muscles, do the following exercise. From Dandasana lean back, place the palms behind you about 15 cm from the pelvis and press them into the floor. The hands are shoulder-width apart, the fingers pointing towards the wall behind you. Turn the shoulders outwards and draw the shoulder blades in. Then broaden the upper back, taking the shoulder blades out to the sides, away from the spine. This steadies the trunk and gives it a good support.Lift the top of the sternum and hold this position for 1-2 minutes. Breathe calmly. Do not let the head drop, and look straight ahead: the chin is lowered but does not touch the sternum. On an inhalation return to Dandasana. Many beginners find it uncomfortable to lower the feet to the floor in Halasana. The reason is not so much stiffness in the shoulder girdle as insufficient elasticity in the hamstrings. In that case the feet should be placed on a support, a chair for example. The distance from the straight edge of the blankets to the chair is a little less than the length of the legs. To make the support for the feet steady, place it against a wall or on a carpet.To come into the pose, sit on the mat with your back to the chair and the blankets. Bend the knees and press the feet into the floor. Lean back and lower the trunk and the shoulders onto the blankets, and the head onto the floor. The shoulders should be about 3 cm from the edge of the blanket. Stretch the arms alongside the trunk, palms down. Pressing the hands into the floor, draw the knees towards you on an exhalation. Round the spine, straighten the legs and take them over the head. Lower the toes to the floor or onto the chair. While you are in the asana, never turn the head to the side. Look at the front of the thighs.Press the fingertips into the floor, roll the upper arms from the inside outwards and tuck the shoulders under you - if you simply move them away from the head, unnecessary tension will appear in the neck. Without losing that rotation, place the palms on the back. Spread and lengthen the hands. Press the ring fingers and the little fingers down firmly. Press the outer edge of the elbows into the support as strongly as you can. If the shoulders slide apart, put a rolled-up mat under them.The arms can also be stretched out behind the trunk, with the fingers either interlocked or the palms pressed to the floor. Keep the pelvis directly above the shoulders and lengthen the spine. Draw the base of the sternum in. Work the thighs and the feet. Relax the neck and the jaw. To come out of the pose, bend the knees and on an exhalation slowly lower the pelvis to the floor. If the load on the neck is too great, if your face flushes and it is hard to breathe in the pose, make the support under the shoulders higher. Beginners should stay in the asana for 15-30 seconds, gradually building up to 3 minutes. (Yoga Journal) A further description of Halasana The contraindications for Halasana are the same as for the other inverted poses, but in addition the general condition of the back strongly affects whether this asana is possible at all. Anyone who does Paschimottanasana badly will find the plough pose hard to deal with. The cervical spine is loaded here considerably more than anywhere else. For beginners the technique is the same as for the beginning of Sarvangasana. Having taken the shape available to you, you must assess the degree of tension in the neck, the back and the lower back. If at first you can only lower legs that are slightly bent at the knees - then let it be so. The main thing is that in this position you can relax the body and breathe freely, that is, that you can also relax the mind while you are in a «spoiled» Halasana for the time being, but one without sensations.It hardly needs adding that everything described here takes place on a platform-type support, the use of which is set out in detail at the beginning of this chapter. As soon as sensations appear, you should come out of the pose, pressing the hands firmly into the floor so as not to fall sharply onto the back. In general it is best to come down at a pace at which no trouble arises. If the spine is too «wooden» in any of its segments, it is better not to try to force the legs down onto the floor behind the head at all, but to rest them on something above the level of the head, on the seat of a chair, saySome people have to begin Halasana with exactly this. As the legs gradually start to come lower, something else can be adapted as a support - a stack of reasonably heavy books, for example. Then, following the natural pace of adaptation to the shape, they can be removed one by one, and you will gradually begin to reach the floor with your toes, to rest on it freely, to move the trunk back until the back makes an angle of less than ninety degrees with the floor, to place the knees on the floor beside the ears («Karnapidasana»), on the floor behind the head, and so on.At every intermediate stage on the way to the traditional form of Halasana the aim is one and the same: never to hold the weight of the body with the muscles of the back; they must not interfere with the specific work of the spine, which is loaded passively. Pay particular attention to the absence, in everyday life, of any bodily sensations that the practice of the «plough pose» may have caused (this applies, incidentally, to all three inverted poses). If such sensations do appear, especially in the neck, you should stop practising the asanas that cause them immediately and draw a clear conclusion for yourself: either something is being done wrongly, or you have overloaded yourself.After doing all three inverted asanas one after another (in their basic form or with variations) the following recommendations must be observed: never get up abruptly; lie down quietly in Savasana for a minute and a half to two minutes after each pose (their order is always the same: Sirsasana, Sarvangasana, Halasana). If the headstand was held for ten to fifteen minutes, the rest before «Sarvangasana» should be at least three minutes. If the «candle» lasted ten minutes - the rest before «Halasana» is likewise three minutes.If for some reason you wish to do the «headstand» after the «candle» and the «plough», there should be at least fifteen minutes between them, filled with other poses. The effects of practising Halasana The effect of Halasana is the same as that of Sarvangasana, but in addition, because the abdominal region is compressed, the internal organs are rejuvenated. Thanks to the forward bend the spine receives an increased flow of blood, which relieves back pain. Cramp in the hands is cured by stretching the palms and interlocking the fingers. Those who suffer from stiffness in the shoulders and elbows, and from lumbago and arthritis of the back, also get relief. Abdominal pain from trapped gas stops as well, and the relief is felt immediately. Halasana is useful for headaches and fatigue; it calms the nerves and the brain and relieves congestion of blood in the head. It has a healing effect in menstrual disorders and in diseases of the urinary system. It is good for arthritis and for stiffness in the shoulders and arms. The physiology of Halasana. Plough Pose - THE LIVER is a majestic organ. In antiquity, in the East, it was an object of worship. Halasana (the plough pose) is mentioned in medieval yoga manuscripts, says the yoga researcher and Candidate of Biological Sciences Rinad Sultanovich MINVALEEV. - This asana helps to overcome various forms of liver failure, the fatty degeneration of the liver that precedes cirrhosis in alcoholics, and the after-effects of hepatitis at the rehabilitation stage. It can take the place of warming the liver (a hot-water bottle on the liver), and it does the same work as hepatoprotective drugs. Besides that, halasana is an extremely effective preventive measure against congestion in the groin and against prostatitis. That is to say, when someone is weighed down by erotic feelings with no outlet, halasana will help to "tame" the animal temperament and will restore the balance of soul and flesh.To do halasana correctly you should lie on your back, stretch the arms out freely alongside the body (palms down) and take the legs over the head. After that - "imagine yourself as a plough", as though the head were the ploughshare cutting into the earth; the arms - the handles the ploughman leans on; and the legs - what the pulling power is applied to: a tractor, a horse, a buffalo, or... the ploughman's wife.- Then it turns out that the feet are the "wife", our heels are the "wife's head", and the toes are "her legs".- Exactly so.- But in this position the toes point automatically, quite balletically - poorly stretched ligaments play their part. And so the "heroic peasant woman's torso" is thrown backwards, although it would be "more comfortable for her" to do the opposite - to lean her head forward, in the direction of travel.- Quite right. That is why the classical performance of halasana requires you not to point the toes but, on the contrary, to draw them towards the head, while pushing the heels out, drawing them away from the head, or at least trying to make them protrude. And it is not so important that the legs come down to the floor. After all, not everyone has the necessary flexibility. The principal fold should be at the waist, not at the neck. If you cannot lower straight legs to the floor on the very first attempt, then let them hang. In the course of the practice the ligaments are mobilised a little, and the legs will come down bit by bit. But if you "jerk about" (now straightening the legs, now touching the floor with them), there will be no benefit in it.In hatha yoga continuous movements with gradually increasing effort are what is wanted. When the asana is finished it does no harm to eat something fatty - curd cheese with sour cream or ham, for instance - or to drink a glass of kefir. The explanation is very simple: an activated liver secretes bile intensively, and it needs to be given something to "digest".- What sensations accompany this pose?- The main one is warmth under the ribs. That means "the process has started".- And the breathing? One look at this pose is enough to see that the breath will be disrupted.- That can happen, but not because the pose is hard to do; it is rather because of the layer of fat that so often troubles today's city dweller. You have to put up with it; in this situation it does no harm. Pain, however, is not acceptable. It can arise if there have at some time been specific injuries to the back or the cervical spine. In principle there may also be other pathologies, unrelated to injury, in which a person is physically unable to do halasana. Besides that, there is a contraindication of a different kind: the acute phase of the very liver diseases you intend to treat. In moments of crisis halasana is not especially effective, and more than that - it is dangerous. The best time to use halasana is the recovery stage.- What accounts for its life-giving action?- Improved blood circulation, faster activity of the liver cells, a rise in the temperature inside the liver, and the acceleration of biochemical reactions.- And thanks to what does all this "improve and accelerate"?- Thanks to the compression of the liver, the increase in intra-abdominal pressure, and the change in the venous outflow.- Venous outflow - is that when blood moves along the veins? And how can it change? Will the blood flow the other way?- No. It will travel the same way: from the liver to the heart. The point is that in a healthy person this blood flow is not even (like water from a tap, say) but pulsating. The blood runs now strongly, now more weakly, now not at all. And this pulsation follows a definite rhythm, because it is produced by the contractions of the heart muscle. In someone who has had one or another form of hepatitis, however, the venous outflow from the liver is altered: the blood does not pulsate. We asked patients who had had hepatitis to do halasana every evening. Immediately after halasana had been done correctly, a venous pulse appeared in the hepatic vein!- So you advise everyone who has had jaundice to take up this pose and not to come out of it until those pulsations are restored?- Halasana is one of those poses that one must specifically "come out of". You should not stay in it for more than 2-3 minutes. We also studied the effect of halasana on a healthy liver. Thirty-three healthy people (24 of them women) between 18 and 55 years of age were examined. The blood was "measured" by pulsed-wave Doppler echography. HITACHI EUB-525 (Japan) and KONTRON "Sigma-44" (France) echo units were used. In each subject we recorded the blood flow three times: before the asana, lying horizontally on the back, then during the plough pose, and finally immediately after coming out of it. (At each of these three recordings we kept the sample volume of the probing beam at the same depth.) And it turned out that the normal - pulsating - blood flow changes during halasana. It becomes monophasic and non-pulsating - just as it is in those who have previously had hepatitis...- And what is good about that?- After you come out of the pose the pulsations resume.- So you mean that the pulsating blood flow is not merely restored, but comes back "with new force", as it were?- Yes. In patients who had had hepatitis, the venous pulsation could be "caught" immediately after halasana.- You said that halasana is better done at the time of the full moon.- At the full moon and "on the waning moon".- How many years does one have to practise yoga for such training to work without fail?- The training will be most effective precisely for beginners. The main thing is to do it correctly. Over time, though, the body gets used to this influence and the expected effect is reduced. This applies not only to the plough pose but to any exercise at all (not necessarily one from yoga). To give the body back its receptivity, its "ability to be surprised", yoga has a special asana - the corpse pose.