How to Ace Vrischikasana

Vrischikasana is an advanced yoga asana which means Scorpion as it resembles a striking scorpion. Scorpion pose pushes us to move past our self-imposed expectations and limits, to find our guts and gumption. You need to have full practice for performing this pose to avoid the risk of injury. Shilpa Shetty recently shared a video of herself doing the Vrischikasana pose as it is considered to be one of the most difficult poses in advanced yoga.

She wrote: ‘As James Broughton said, “I’m happy to report, the child in me is still ageless”. Started learning advance yoga at 42… rather late, but better late than never. I always wanted to do the #vrischikasana. I believe it’s never too late to learn something new. Years may wrinkle the skin (that I’m okay with), but to give up enthusiasm will wrinkle my soul… that I couldn’t live with. We don’t grow old with the number of years we live, we age when we stop living… So Live it up #instafam. Never give up. Try something new.’

We are sure her video of doing this pose will inspire you but before that read on its benefits

•   It improves the blood flow of the brain

•    Helps in building stability and improves strength in the forearms, shoulders and back body

•     The pose tones the reproductive organs

•    It also detoxifies the kidneys and adrenal glands

•    It also helps in improving focus and concentration.

•   This asana develops a sense of balance

How to prepare yourself

If you are new to the pose start by doing sun salutations to encourage movement, blood flow to the tissues and joints. Below mentioned are some poses which will open and strengthen the body to work toward the full scorpion pose.

•             Child pose

•             Downward facing dog

•             Extended puppy pose

•             Dolphin pose

•             Peacock pose

Also, we advise you to do it in presence of an experienced trainer

•     Get into dolphin pose

•      Inhale on a count of two and lift your right leg into the air as high as possible

•    Give a kick to the raised leg in the backward direction and lift the leg off the ground as well. This will put your body weight on your palms and forearms as well as your elbows.

•     Stabilize yourself for balance

•    Arch your back and try to bring both of your feet closer to your head. Bend your knees for help

•    As you balance look in front and focus on an imaginary point

•  Hold this pose and repeat.