Body Bending Yoga Positions That Are Not For Beginners

Yoga has really taken off in the last decade. Men and women are using it. But, not every Yoga Positions are meant for every body. Which ones should beginners keep away from? Read on to find out!

Yoga has really caught on in recent years and some even ask does yoga build muscle?

It’s easy to see why as it helps many people relax. When you’re able to hold a difficult pose for any length of time, it means your mind is clear of any distractions. In fact, many people practice yoga for the simple fact that it almost forces them to clear their heads. Then, of course, there are others who use it to work up a sweat and get in shape.

As most people know, there are all sorts of positions that people put their bodies into when they are practicing yoga. Many of them are simple and so basic that anybody can do them. Others are very complex. Some of the more advanced yoga positions are not recommended for a beginner.

Why?

You could actually hurt yourself while attempting them.

Which ones?

We’ll go over some of the most popular advanced yoga positions.

The Scorpion

The Scorpion is a position that’s very advanced and hard to maintain. It involves doing a handstand on your elbows with your hands planted firmly on the ground and arching your back with your legs hanging over the back of your head. It’s hard enough for most people to maintain a regular handstand. Falling backward while doing a handstand is dangerous, especially if you don’t have your head positioned correctly when you fall.

If you want to practice and prepare yourself for this position, then it would be wise to try it out against a wall first. That way, you can get used to doing a handstand on your elbows and get your balance doing so before trying it with nothing to support you.

This position is also known as the Vrschikasana. It’s considered an advanced yoga position because of the level of focus that you must maintain to not let your legs come crashing down on you.

The Pinching Shoulders Headstand

This is a Sirsasana yoga pose that’s definitely not one for those who don’t have a firm grasp on their routines.

This pose requires a lot of balance and a great deal of flexibility. It requires you to do a handstand on your elbows and raise your legs above your body. Your arms should be in a triangle-type position, with your head at the base and your hands being the tip of the triangle.

While in this position, you should wrap your legs around each other as tight as you can. Your legs should be thoroughly intertwined with each other and held in a raised position. The purpose of intertwining your legs is to help yourself focus on your other muscles rather than using your legs to provide balance.

Once you are in the headstand and your legs are wrapped around each other, you should hold the pose for as long as you can. This pose will help to build shoulder, neck and core muscles.

People who are not used to doing headstands in this position can also practice this pose by balancing themselves against a wall. After a while, you should be able to get into the pose without having to be near a wall. You should also be able to hold it for several minutes at a time. It’s important not to overdo this position.

Why?

It can cause extreme neck soreness.

The Sleeping Yogi Pose

If you’re thinking about the cartoon character, then you’re clearly not smarter than the average bear.

This is a pose for those who have a very flexible body. It normally takes people a long time to be able to even attempt this position.

Those who are brand new to yoga normally find that they have much tighter muscles than yoga experts, but that’s entirely normal. Once people get used to doing the basic exercises, they will gain advanced flexibility and also become more limber. Wait until your muscles are completely loose and able to be contorted in more diverse positions before you attempt this pose.

The sleeping yogi pose is basically where you take both of your legs and put them behind your head. Your feet should be interlocked behind your head to keep them securely in place. Your arms are going to be on the inner portion of your legs while they are held back.

This position is best done while lying on a yoga mat with your back against the ground. Any other way of attempting this position will put you in a very uncomfortable spot and you are also likely to fall on your face. The main benefit of this pose is to gain advanced flexibility and to help stretch your muscles out.

The reason this position is considered to be for experts only is because people have pulled their leg muscles trying to get into this pose.

The Standing Flying Crow

This is a pose that requires quite a bit of upper body strength and flexibility. The pose is done by performing a regular handstand, but with your elbows being at about a 90-degree angle. It’s almost impossible to keep your arms in such a position and to hold your legs straight up. That is why you will have to keep your legs a bit lower.

Your right leg should be extended into the air, and your left leg should be brought in lower and bent so that your left knee is resting on the triceps area of your left arm, and your left foot is hooked on your right elbow. It sounds quite complex because it is an advanced position that is complicated to do and even harder to maintain once the correct positioning is achieved.

Because doing the pose will have you put your arms in a bent position with your legs not completely straight up, you are going to have to be focusing a lot of your energy on your arms and core muscles.

Doing this pose regularly and holding it for a good length of time will provide you with an exceptional exercise for your arms, shoulders and core muscles. Your balance and coordination will also be improved once this pose is mastered.

The Peacock Pose

This is a pose that is actually much easier than any of the other ones on this list.

But, it is still an advanced pose that requires a lot of strength and balance. That’s why it has made this list of advanced poses that are not for beginners to try. This is one of the more advanced poses that people start to master before they work their way to the sleeping yogi or the standing flying crow.

To properly perform this pose, you will need to have a solid, flat surface that you can put your hands on without hurting yourself. Your hands are to be placed near to each other and facing outwards so that your core can be entirely rested on them. Once you have rested your core on your hands, you then should raise your legs to about a 45-degree angle (maybe a little less) with the ground and hold this pose for as long as you can. Some people even prefer to try and keep their legs completely parallel with the ground.

The main benefit of this pose is that you will develop exceptional core strength.

Why?

Holding your legs and body in this position is not a simple thing to do and it definitely builds abs muscles quickly. Because all of your weight is focused on your hands and arms during this pose, it does not really work the arm muscles. Instead, your bones will be doing most of the support if you are properly performing the peacock pose. It’s still one that many experts like to add to their normal yoga routines.

There is also a more advanced form of this pose that’s basically the exact same thing as the peacock pose, except that you put one of your arms directly in front. This puts all of your core weight onto the other arm. Doing this variation of the peacock pose allows you to focus on balance while also building core muscles.

It’s definitely not easy to hold this advanced pose for more than a minute or two at a time, but some experts have reported that they can maintain it for five to 10 minutes!

Don’t try it!

The Locust Scorpion Position

This pose is a mix between the scorpion and locust poses, so it requires a fair amount of experience to do.

It’s very similar to the scorpion in that you are going to have your back arched and your legs hanging behind your head, but you won’t be on your hands or elbows at all. Instead of doing the elbow stand, you will hold your arms straight out in front of you, flat on the ground, and your neck should be planted firmly on the ground.

Most people who see experts doing this pose are shocked that people can keep their neck and chin on the ground with their arms out in front of them for so long. That is one of the reasons why this pose is considered to be such an advanced one.

You should not attempt this pose until you have achieved very good flexibility and balance. Why? It can be very dangerous to put your neck and chin on the ground while trying to dangle your legs behind you. If you do not have the right amount of strength and balance, you could fall over backward and sprain your neck or much worse.

Forget it!

The Lord Of The Dance Position

This is a pose that requires exceptional levels of balance.

While it’s not too physically demanding of your body’s muscles, it is hard to do because it takes an expert level of flexibility and balance to be used simultaneously.

This pose is done by standing on one leg and leaning a little bit forward so that your other leg can be brought behind your back and your foot up behind your head. If your right foot is going behind your head, then your right arm should be used to reach behind and grab it. You are then supposed to hold this pose for as long as you can.

This pose is considered an expert level one because it requires a substantial amount of balance to be able to hold it for any length of time. It also requires a very flexible body.

When people first try this pose they often find that they have to let go of their foot and place it on the ground so they do not take a tumble.

Conclusion

Yoga can be a very good thing to do for your body. As a result, many people have become interested in all things yoga. But, it is not easy. It requires a lot of focus to maintain the complex positions. The good news is that it helps you to clear your mind of anything that might be bothering you.

Along with helping to relieve stress, practicing yoga will also help you to stay in shape. It’s even a great way to make friends by meeting new people in a yoga class. Just be sure to go to a class taught by a pro instructor who can help you learn the more complex poses and provide you with tips on how to do them.

If you are interested in trying yoga and haven’t truly begun your training yet, then you should keep the poses on this list in mind.

One day, you will be able to perform all of them and greatly impress your friends!

Until then, if you want to be able to perform any of these poses in the future, then it’s best to start off slow and easy and work your way into the advanced positions.

By Garrick LaGue