Notes
In salamaba sarvangasana (page 190), the
erector muscles of the spine are more active
than in viparita karani. In the lifted version
of viparita karani, the abdominal muscles
play a greater role than the spinal muscles
to keep the pelvis from collapsing onto the
hands—because of the flexion of the hips, the
weight of the legs falls in such a way that the
weight of the pelvis is falling backward toward
further extension in the spine.
In viparita karani, the abdominal muscles
are strongly active in eccentric contraction.
If they do not have the ability to modulate
their lengthening, the weight of the pelvis col-
lapses onto the hands or wrists. Practicing the
ability to enter and leave this pose can help
with other actions that require abdominal
eccentric control, such as dropping the legs
over into urdhva dhanurasana (page 249)
from a headstand or handstand, controlling
vrksasana (page 86), dropping back into
urdhva dhanurasana from tadasana (page
72), and so forth.
Body proportions and individual differ-
ences in weight distribution between the
upper and lower body greatly affect the
experience of this pose. A prime example is how challenging controlling the movement
into this pose can be for women because of the greater proportion of weight in their lower
bodies and the generally greater flexibility of their spines.
Breathing
The inverted nature of viparita karani produces the cleansing, eliminative effects associated
with the upward movement of apana. The supported versions of this pose are a valuable
staple of restorative yoga practice.
E5267/Kaminoff/fig9.14/417767/alw/pulled-r1Dropped version of viparita karani.Viparita Karani (continued)