Hot Yoga Pose Forums > Poorna Salabhasana: Full Locust Pose
This pose makes me feel graceful. I love the energy and especially the way it looks in a full class.
AlexandriaS
Kristina asks: How do you get your hands higher? I feel that if I just lift my arms, I break the lock and yes, my hands are higher than my head, but then my arms are in V. Is it all in the shoulders?
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
You are correct, Kristina: when you lift your hands higher than your head, your arms are in an upward V. Just don't start out in a V and when you lift higher, be aware of pulling down on the shoulders (not all the way down, but enough to feel the shoulders "grounded") in order to keep the lock intact.
Some people say to pull the arms and shoulders behind you and thrust the chest more forward as you lift higher; not a big fan of this cue
And the easiest way to lift higher is to move the eyes down the back wall - way past the ceiling - and go, go, go!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
My question here is about how to gain height in the LEGS. In Locust I feel you have the advantage of pushing into your upper body. But here with your upper body up as well, I'm not sure what to focus on most to get that lift.
Melina
I just noticed that I am forgetting to squeeze my shoulder blades together in this pose. I think doing so will help with the lift through my chest and arms.
I found it helpful to be reminded through the reading that students should not bypass proper release. The should be reversed up first prior to beginning savasana.
Mallory Maier
Aimee - by proper release if you mean that you should lift to your maximum height in Poorna Salabhansas just before you release the pose, you are correct. As a teacher, the tone of your voice in your script should be letting students know when to apply that last ounce of 100% effort...and RELEASE!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Melina - yes its always great when you have leverage for lifting - in Poorna Salabhasana you need a strong core to lift that eventually so high you're balanced on your hip bones (ideal). Just keep lifting equal and opposite parts of your body a little at a time - arms, hands higher than your head, point your toes/lift your legs, chest up, chin up, eyes to the ceiling then down the back wall - running through this checklist over and over until the pose is done, with a final burst of energy on lifting EVERYTHING HIGHER just before release
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
HA! I don't necessarily "love" this one! But it does make me feel like Superman. I notice a lot of times students putting their arms in V vs T position. I don't know if it's for fear of 'touching' other people but I've definitely seen my share of it!
HeatherS
Yeah, nope I don't love this one at all. Of all the poses it is my least favorite. Can't tell you why but not a big fan at all
GabbyL
Heather - in traditional Bikram classes the cue is indeed to put the arms back in more of a V shape in Poorna Salabhasana; not wrong and it does offer more "height" in the chest. I am all about protecting those rotator cuffs though. Try it both ways, following thate teacher's cues, and see what you feel.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
It's been true for me, Gabby, that once you unlock the secret of any pose - either in the alignments or in your heart - your least favorite pose becomes your most favorite. When you finally let go of something held tight for so long, the freedom is exhilarating - and the flip from most hated to most loved, inevitable. Letting go is not only easier than holding on - it's liberating. In Poorna Salabhasana, the heart is pulled open; deeply-buried emotions and a habit of protecting your heart are common to us human-folk. Poorna Salabhasana presents us with a great challenge and opportunity. Once you are "broken open," there is no way to go back mindlessly. Your feelings and preferences about the poses are clues to what you're up to now. Get ready for an AHA moment in Poorna Salabhasana; it's coming.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
This is not my favorite pose either. I follow the cues to my best ability, but I feel that I'm just not up that high. On the other hand I do feel it in my back so I believe that I'm doing it right. Maybe I am in for an AHA moment too!
KimA
I love this beautiful pose I lift my arms and my legs, stretch my toes and FLY!!! It makes my back so strong It does take a lot of effort and strength to do it right. I want my chest and my arms to go so much higher! I want to get that flexibility doing this pose. I love to spread my wings before the take off and see the beautiful muscles of my strong wings and take off! Breathe and keep practicing :).
Alfia
Answer Kim please, Alfia
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Kim, the depth will come with practice. Try not to think and follow the cues Lift your arms higher lift your toes higher find that beautiful stretch and let you head go back as far as possible at the moment and fly I also add a smile as a crown jewel to every pose I do. It really helps :).
Alfia
Alfia & Kim, definitely a tight body is a light body - that makes this pose so much easier for me! Lifting arms higher and toes higher in a steady progression is key!
I find the teacher's cue to bypass your reflection to be really helpful. Looking up brings me UP.
One thing I experience often is a lopsidedness. Either I'm not squared off to the mirror so that when I do fly up, I look unsymmetrical in my reflection, or I am imbalanced in my left and right side strength… This pose is good for revealing anatomical imbalances….how do I fix it? Try to intend on kicking harder - leg - raising higher - arm - on the side that is lagging?
Grace
When i bypass my reflection and concentrate on lifting my chin, my eyes automatically look towards the back wall and my chest follows by lifting up higher.
We all have muscle imbalances throughout our body. So many reasons can cause this, old injuries, weakness, pain, tightness, favoring a specific side, etc. I find sometimes im lopsided too when i'm not lying completely straight on my mat before locking, tightening and flying up, so i would try squaring up first as you mentioned above.
I know its sometimes hard in a full class, but if you can keep both arms in T position on the floor before stretching fingertip to fingertip and lifting them up from the same height it may correct the lopsidedness. We often hover over the person next to us and our arms are not lifting from the exact same height as they would be if the arms are on the floor and this may cause lopsidedness as well.
TinaA
You're right Tina - and maybe we can just all be OK with touching the person beside us in class as we fly! Recently I touched fingertips with the person on my right and we supported each other in our flight - it felt empowering!
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Rhonda, it is so empowering to support each other in our beautiful flight. Lock your body, arms out in line with the shoulders, and lift yourself up. Looking up, definitely, Grace, lifts us up into a beautiful Poorna Salabasana creating strong and beautiful backs. The pose is really beautiful and uplifting. I like that one of the cues are FLY!!!
Alfia
Yes, I say that this pose is as close to flying you can get in the waking state. FLY indeed.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Its amazing then when you look to where you want to go, its much easier to go farther down that road.
Becky
Indeed Becky - place your sights on the place you want to be and you're halfway there. Abraham gives a great analogy: when you're driving you don't look down at the ground to see where you are - you set your sights on where you want to be. In Poorna Salabhasana, you want to FLY, not hover, so look up into the sky, not into the mirror. It doesnt do any good to stay where you are right now - and sometimes, even noticing where you are makes you feel stuck. Look beyond where you are now - because where you are right now is a product of your PAST. Where your body is now is a result of your past habits. Where your life is now is a mirror for your past beliefs. You create the future you want by looking at it NOW.
Most people say, "I'll be happy when...." waiting for the future to catch up to them. It wont. You have to get out ahead of it by being happy NOW. That's how you create your future - happy or not. Your choice. If you are happy where you are right now, bask in it before you move ahead to create your happier future. If not, look away and start living the happiness of your future reality now - because that's whats coming.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
"you want to FLY, not hover." I like this idea. I am certainly a student who is guilty of hovering (unless I have Grace as a teacher because she calls me out). I hope that I learn to love this pose, but it just doesn't do it for me. I don't really like the way it shapes my back. Also, breathing is tough in this one, and I always feel that despite trying 80 20 breathing the wind still gets taken out of my sails and I can't wait for it to end.
Maybe I will try more of the V shape that is shown in the book and talked about above. Perhaps that will help me pull my body up with my eyes.
Brittany Yard
I'm excited to pay more attention to locking, lifting, eyes up and back and I see myself gaining more flight in this pose. I am beginning to lift my arms and legs higher and I know soon I will feel complete lightless and a great sense of lift and height allowing the feeling of soaring high!
Lisa O'Rourke
Conversely, the "airplane pose" is one students love - who doesn't love that feeling of flying? Locking the arms and legs, lifting the chest, and moving the eyes first to the ceiling then down the back wall all help get you higher. Are you flying yet?