Responsibility: What Is Mine? What Is Not?

Originally posted January 21, 2021

The following is adapted from The Inner Life of Asanas by Swami Lalitananda

 

The Shoulderstand offers an opportunity to explore responsibility – what is mine and what is not. The shoulders are a wonderful structure designed for carrying weight as well as for allowing us the freedom to reach out, to open up, to embrace. Shoulders come with this dual potential of freedom and burden. In the Shoulderstand, we ask the shoulders to carry our own weight – nothing more, nothing less.

Working to find the precise balance in the Shoulderstand can be a metaphor for searching for that delicate union of responsibility and nonattachment. For me, the Shoulderstand involves finding the balance between effort and surrender. What do I have to accept about myself as a fact? And what can be changed? Where do I support a limited idea of myself until it becomes an untested reality? Where do I push for change when I need to accept?

Many of us have the idea that we are not good enough as we are. We react by trying even harder or by giving up. A third possibility is to accept where we are now and continue to grow. In the Shoulderstand, we are offered the possibility of lifting ourselves up to become an offering to the Divine, a rainbow bridge between our present state and our potential.

Practicing the Shoulderstand

Prepare your body. Warm up the spine with spinal rocks, cat tucks and dog tilts, the Downward Dog and the Little Bridge. Free up the neck by moving the head slowly up and down, stretching from side to side by bringing the ear toward the shoulder and making slow rotations. Strengthen the abdomen with leg lifts.

Prepare your mind to listen. Work with the pose with awareness.

Please note: Shoulderstand is not recommended if you have high blood pressure or neck injuries. Also, as with other inverted poses, you may choose to refrain during menstruation. Lying with your legs up the wall is an alternative with some of the same benefits. You can also visualize yourself going into the pose, holding and coming out. 

  1. From a relaxed, lying-down position with palms on the floor, lift your legs up, raising the hips off the floor and lengthening through the torso.
  2. Roll up onto your shoulders, finding the place of balance – wherever that is for you – using your hands and arms to support your back. Find the position where you feel the weight mainly on your shoulders.
  3. A more supported/modified option is to go into the half Shoulderstand, where you keep the spine straight at about 70 degrees to the floor, and use your arms and hands as support under your hips.
  4. To come out of the pose, slowly lower your spine down to the floor. Bend the legs, if necessary, or bring them down straight. Try to keep the head on the floor, rather than lifting it up.
  5. Follow up with the Fish pose.

Reflections

  • As you work with the pose, observe the different voices in your mind. Ask, “How do I choose which one to listen to? How does my body respond to the different voices?”
  • Reflect on an issue or situation that is putting you under pressure. Go into the Shoulderstand and see how you can adjust or shift your weight to release the pressure. Ask, “Is there a situation in my life where I can adjust to support myself and carry my own weight in a healthy way?”
  • Consider, “What are my responsibilities? What are not?” As you come out of the Shouldstand, think of releasing your burdens as you lower your legs.

Taking time to write notes about your experience can help strengthen your learning.