Fitness Planner | How to go from being a Yoga novice to doing the Scorpion pose in 6 months - Part 2

Upside-down or inversion postures may cause some giddiness or make you feel sleepy initially. (Representational image: Ginny Rose via Unsplash)

After the month-long work on your flexibility and strength with simple asanas to prepare your body for yoga, you are now ready to take it up a notch and progress to slightly more advanced asanas and postures. In this second month of Couch to Scorpion pose training, we shall continue to work on improving your overall flexibility and focus on the back and spine to prepare it for the acute bend that the Scorpion pose demands by including advanced postures and asanas such as Eka pada Rajakapotasana (pigeon pose) and Raja kapotasana (king pigeon pose). We shall also do inversions such as Pincha mayurasana (feathered peacock pose) and Adho mukha vrikshasana (handstand) so that you start finding balance while being upside-down and know what it feels like when the blood rushes to your head and the weight is on your hands instead of your legs.

However, before we proceed the most important thing to remember all through this journey is that you will need discipline and patience, says Dr Karthik Kashyap, a Bengaluru-based yoga teacher who holds a doctorate in yoga and philosophy from Mangalore University. “Certain activities must be done slowly and patiently to reap the maximum benefit from them. Yoga is one such activity. Rushing through asanas and progression will not help… in fact, it is most likely to be detrimental to your progress. You will also need the discipline to show up on the yoga mat and do your practice as per the training plan to achieve your goals. This is a long journey and you will need to go according to your body’s flow and understand how it reacts to different asanas and postures,” adds Kashyap.

This month, we continue to prepare the body for yoga and remove the imbalances in the body so that you can take on advanced postures and asanas and hold them for some time. We shall also attempt the first inversions this month, including handstands (Adho mukha vrikshasana) and feathered peacock pose (Pincha Mayurasana). Kashyap advises starting off with the inversions against a wall initially. Finding balance while upside down is difficult for most people and it comes only with practice. However, these inversion moves and poses are extremely important.

“These asanas and poses will help you understand how your body responds to being in inverted positions. We start with short time spans of 10 seconds because beginners, usually, can’t hold these upside down postures for too long as there is a lot of pressure on the shoulders and wrists,” says Kashyap.

In the initial days, upside-down or inversion postures could result in you feeling a bit confused but do not panic. It should clear up once you are seated or upright again, says Kashyap. He has more warnings so that you do not get scared away from these moves. “Soreness in the back and shoulders is common because of the pressure and weight of your entire body on the shoulders, which they aren’t normally used to. You might even experience some giddiness but that will disappear with sustained practice. Finally, you might feel very sleepy during daytime in the first few days of performing the handstand and feathered peacock pose inversions, but once your body is adjusted to the upside-down asanas and postures, this problem goes away and you are going to benefit by getting a perfectly tuned sleep cycle,” warns Kashyap.

In your training plan this month we shall introduce one of the most popular yoga moves that you are most likely familiar with—the suryanamaskara or sun salutations. It is a full-body workout that leads to weight loss, improves flexibility and increases core strength, explains Kashyap. “The Pristasana (lizard pose) helps develop strength in your arms and also works on your balance. We shall also be doing Chakrasana (wheel pose) and Shalabhasana (locust pose) in several sessions. These back bend postures are very helpful in making your back stronger and the spine supple. Inversions including, feathered peacock and hand stand are a progression towards the Scorpion pose and both enhance your elbow and shoulder strength,” says Kashyap.

As you embark on the second month of training, once again remember to be disciplined and patient. Show up on the mat and do your training thrice a week with a clear mind and full focus and then wait for the results to show. They won’t be instant but they will be visible to you and everyone else in the coming months.