Shoulder stand Pose – Sarvangasana

Erin and Naomi have combined forces to inspire you onto your mat with beautifully illustrated yoga poses you can practise at home.

This week’s pose and illustration, Shoulder Stand Pose – Sarvangasana, is based on the fifth chakra, the throat chakra (otherwise known as Vishuddha chakra). Its colour is blue. The throat chakra is linked with self expression, truth and purity. When this chakra is in balance we communicate our truth and desires effortlessly without worry of what other people may think. When out of balance we may feel the need to lie or be anxious about how we might be perceived.

Shoulder stand – Sarvangasana is perfect for connecting to the energy based around the throat chakra. The compression around the throat area in this pose also helps balance the thyroid gland encouraging healthy hormone production

Step 1
Lay down on your mat, bringing your knees into your chest while keeping your arms down alongside your body. Exhaling, lift your feet, knees and lower back up away from the mat. As your back lifts, bring the full flat of your hands to your lower back as the knees come in towards the chest.

Step 2
Work towards drawing your elbows towards each other as you move your shoulders back and down – this creates more space for your hands to move higher up the back and closer towards the centre line of the spine. Be mindful of not having too much weight resting on the neck. Your shoulders and upper arms should be supporting you.

Step 3
Keep your feet and knees together and engage through your abdominals and pelvic floor muscles. Start to bring the pelvis up higher as you lift through the spine – you are looking to create as much of a straight line as possible with the vertebrae.

Step 4
From here start to straighten the legs up toward the ceiling, slightly rotating your upper thighs inwards. Once the legs are fully extended – energise the toes and flex through your heels.

Step 5
Beginners may want to try holding the pose for up to 30 seconds, the more advanced yogi can go for a minute or more. Bring your attention towards the centre of your brow and settle into your steady inhales and exhales. To come out of the pose, relax the knees towards the chest and slowly roll down through the spine. When your back is resting on the mat, hug your knees into your chest and rock from side to side.

A little bit more about Naomi and Erin

Naomi Costantino
Naomi has been teaching for over 10 years, originally training as a dancer and working on stage, TV and film. It was through the emotional ups and downs of life and physical injury that Naomi discovered yoga and the transformational quality it can have on mind, body and spirit. Naomi shares her passion and understanding of working with the physical body as a gateway to healing through her teaching and writing.

We Heart Living – Naomi Constantino

Erin Petson
With a pale face like a Bronte heroine and delicate hands, Erin Petson draws like a botanist on a light box, illuminating a sleeve, a hem or a wisp of hair with a nuanced precision that swiftly blurs into abstraction.

Having worked with Dior, Selfridges, Vogue, Victoria Beckham, Swarovski, Diane Von Furstenberg, Moncler, Lancome, The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, Harvey Nichols, and Penguin, Petson’s story is a modern day fable of drawing your dreams on the sky and making them all come true, one by one.

We Heart Living – Erin Petson