My Quest for the Most Difficult Yoga Poses
I will never forget the moment I saw a picture of somebody floating calmly in a flawless Handstand Scorpion. The first thing that came to my mind was, that was not yoga; that was sorcery. But a seed was planted. When my personal practice developed beyond batting around with Sun Salutations to maintaining a steady Crow Pose, I became infatuated with the summit of physical expression in yoga–that is, I found myself to be intrigued, in other words, obsessed, with the peak of physical expression.
I was interested in knowing what it is like to actually try the hardest yoga poses. That was not only a matter of vanity or acquiring a cool Instagram photo. To me, it was a years-long case study of my own character of the utmost strength, flexibility, and mental toughness.
I got into training and devoted numerous hours to the study of the biomechanics and, more to the point, the mindset that is necessary to even approach these postures. What I learnt made my practice permanent and taught me more about my own body and its potential than I ever imagined could be possible.
What Is it that Makes a Yoga Pose Difficult?
It is important to first of all know why some poses are considered to be advanced before we get into the specific poses. It is not always about the single thing as I understood through my trip. It is a vicious mix of a number of factors that make the ideal storm of challenge.
To start with, there is excessive strength. Not only general fitness, but very specific, frequently-isolated strength. We are referring to what is commonly known as the core power that enables you to pull your whole lower body against gravity or arm and shoulder strength to hold your whole body weight with your hands- then hold it.
Next, there is the high flexibility. You can go further than that, touching your toes. It is of a deep, open hips, of a supremely supple spine, and of shoulders of an unbelievable power of movement. Sometimes you require the utmost flexibility in one direction and at the same time ask strength in the other, and this is a neurological nightmare to your body to co-ordinate it.
Lastly, and this is the aspect where I overestimated the least, is balance and fear. Your mind shouts to you to stop when you are three feet off the ground with nothing but your hands on the floor. Overcoming such primal fear is in many cases 90 percent of the battle. It is a fine juggle of micro-measures, the art of dancing that eventually becomes perfected over a period of years.
It is a combination of all three, enormous power, ultimate capacity of flexibility and unchanging stability that makes the hardest yoga poses. The posture cannot be held without one of its elements or would be quite unsafe.
Breaking Down the titans: a closer view of the final challenges of yoga.
These are the poses which I devoted months and in some instances years to master. This is not merely a list but it is a breakdown of my personal experience of what makes each one of them such a monumental task.
Handstand Scorpion Pose (Vrischikasana)
The poster child of advanced yoga is this. The already-challenging handstand is combined with an in-depth heart-opening backbend in Handstand Scorpion. You are standing on your hands and your feet are down to the top of your head.
Why It Is So Hard: This pose requires it all. You require the arm and back strength of a handstander, the bendable back of a contortionist and the steadiness of a tightroke walker. The intimidation of dropping on your back is extremely genuine. In my case, it was not the increase of the backbending, but the development of the rock-solid, stable shoulders.
Requirements Before You Can Skip them: At least 30 seconds of a comfortable handstand position. An effective Wheel Pose ( Urdhva Dhanurasana ) and a good King Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana) to make sure that your spine is prepared.
I will never forget that the first time I saw a photo of a person floating calmly in a flawless Handstand Scorpion. The first thing which flashed in my mind was that that was not yoga, it was sorcery. But a seed was planted. When my personal practice expanded beyond the clumsy repetition of Sun Salutations to a consistent Crow Pose, I became interested, nay, infatuated, with the ultimate level of physical expression in yoga. The reason why I wanted to know what it really requires to attempt the hardest poses of yoga.
This was not all about vanity and acquiring a cool Instagram shot. It was an exploration of the extremes of strength, elasticity and inner resolve to me, a years-long personal experiment. I indulged in the practice and spent a thousand hours studying the biomechanics and what is more vital, the mindset to be able to even think of such postures. What I learned permanently altered my practice and made me understand my own body and its potential more than I ever imagined.
What Is it that Makes a Yoga Pose Difficult?
However, before we get into the specific asanas it is important to know what makes some poses advanced. I learned on my way that it is not always only a single thing. It is a nasty mix of a number of factors that bring about the storm of difficulty.
First, there is high power of strength. Not only general fitness, but very specific, frequently-isolated strength. We are speaking of the type of core strength which will allow you to raise your whole lower body against gravity or the arm and shoulder strength to put your full body weight upon your hands–and stand there.
Christ, then there is peak flexibility. This is more than rubbing your toes. It is of very hip-opened, open hips, an extremely supple spine, and shoulders with an unbelievable degree of movement. Frequently you must be as flexible as possible in one thing and at the same time as hard as possible in another, which is a neurological nightmare to you body to coordinate.
Lastly, and this is the aspect that I discounted the most, is balance and fear. You think your mind is yelling at you that you must quit when you are three feet in the air, and all you are holding is the floor. The most important part of the fight is usually 90 percent of the battle of overcoming that primal fear. A fine balance is a fine-tuning exercise, and it would take years before one develops the skill to do this physically.
It is the combination of all the three such immense strength, ultimate flexibility and balance that is imbued in the most challenging of yoga that makes it so hard. Absence of one of these components could render the pose impossible or extremely dangerous.
A Closer View of the Ultimate Challenges of Yoga: Breaking Down the Tribers.
Listed herein are the positions that I had spent months, and in a few instances years, getting to know. It is not a list, rather a breakdown of the experience I had personally on what makes each one a monumental task.
Handstand Scorpion Pose (Vrischikasana).
And there is probably no poster child of high-level yoga like this one. Handstand Scorpion is a balance, backbend that is meant to be deep and heart-opening. You stand on your hands and your legs are ever coming down to your crown of the head.
Why It’s So Hard: This is a pose that requires it all. You require the shoulder and core power of a handstand student, the elasticity of the spine of a contortionist and the balance of a tightrope walker. You really feel the fear of dropping like a flattened man. In my case it was not a matter of doing more backbending and making the shoulders rock-solid and stable.
Requirements A regular and comfortable hold of a handstand of at least 30 seconds. My back is prepared by performing a strong Wheel Pose ( Urdhva Dhanurasana ) and a firm King Pigeon Pose (Kapotasana ).