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| Hi,
I'm a new teacher, I've only been teaching for about 6 months and have a student in my class who has lots of problems in shoulderstand & halasana in particular as he coughs continually when in the pose. He says he feels that his voice box is being compressed, he can stays in the pose for a few seconds then rolls down, coughing.
I do teach shoulderstand with lots of attention to the neck and get the students to check there is the natural space under the cervical spine, and most of them need to fold the mat to get a little more height under the shoulders. I also get them to keep the chin lifted and not compress the chin to the chest which he is able to do. I've never come across this before and would like for him to experience the full restorative effects of shoulderstand. It also seems to annoy him when it happens and he gets quite tetchy.
I'm teaching tonight and he will probably be there so I plan today to have him come to the wall and just bring his legs up the wall rather than attempt this asana that isn't working for him.
Have you ever come across this before?
Appreciate any advice you may have.
Thank You, Emily |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Hi Emily - more height may be helpful. Have you seen the Iyengar shoulderstand setup with several blankets? Most people do not have a hope of lifting off the floor enough without a nice stack of blankets under their shoulders and arms. The thought of teaching it any other way frankly makes me very nervous, but that is my training speaking.
Does he have trouble getting his feet to the floor with straight legs? Try having him put his feet on the seat of a chair or on the wall - high enough so that he can have straight legs and a straight back with hips over the shoulders.
Does he also cough in shoulderstand? Coughing could also be a sign of acid reflux. |
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| Dear Emily: From what you wrote, it seems that the problems are specific to that student and his body. Also, voice box is supposed to be compressed, but getting coughing during the pose is not good. You have to know many things about this student. Only blankets, etc in order to avoid may be a temporary solution.
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| Hello Emily,
There are two factors here I'd like to touch on.
The first is that the couching may result from activation of the student's throat chakra. It may be an indicator of something else and as Neel points out, more information would be needed to make such a determination.
Secondly, I presume you are teaching both poses flat on the floor rather than with props. While this is commonly taught in some "styles" it is inherently unsafe for nearly every body. Yes, there are some bodies with some actions, some opening, some stability, that can do the poses flat on the floor. For the rest of humanity it is much, much riskier and unfortunately that risk stews over time. Students may come away with severe neck issues. It is also true that a person can do the poses this way over time and have no ill effects. However since it is yoga we are teaching there is a commitment to non-harming and providing the safest practice (least risk) balanced with the most effect (efficacy).
Ergo I do not teach nor practice halasna or sarvangasana flat on the floor. It is nearly impossible to preserve an appropriate (healthy) cervical curve in that fashion. |
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| I think some poses just aren't appropriate for every body, even if perfectly taught and using all sorts of props. So you might figure out a way to make them work better for this person - but maybe not and the substitution is the right thing right now. (Personally, I do shoulderstand only occasionally and for the most part skip plow. My touchy neck is often not thrilled with these poses and in plow I can't breath. I can get the same benefits from other poses. So, I do what I feel is right for me.) |
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| Thank you so much for all your feedback.
I do teach shoulderstand sequence with props but not blankets, if they have a thick sticky mat I get the students to fold the mat twice so there is triple thickness of the mat under the shoulders - or a cushion if the mat is thin. I have the thai type solid cushions around 1.5 inches thick which are great for providing a solid base. I'm very cautious about making sure they all have a good height and maintain the curve in the neck.
I taught this student last night and we discussed moving to the wall but he insisted he wanted to try and said he's seen an improvement since he started practising and he did seem to hold halasana longer before starting to cough.
Next week I will definitely try using the wall or a chair for the legs and see if that helps him. But I think you are right about maybe the pose is just not right for his body. I probably should have mentioned that he comes to class once a week and works out in the gym most days, or maybe it's not relevant?
Thank you again for your comments, I read this forum regularly and find it a great source of information.
Namaste,
Emily |
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Location: London, England | Hi,
Might be getting reflux aggravated by the inversion?
Nick |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| I'm sure not all refluxes are equal, but mine was never aggravated by inversions. Most people who don't have any heartburn refuse to believe they have reflux anyway. I did for years. |
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| Emily,
try more prop height for this student with whatever it is you are using. This will alleviate the degree of flexion in the neck and perhaps that's just enough to free up his throat - or anyone else's.
Edited by purnayoga 2009-04-17 12:04 AM
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| i would say trust him to work it out and don't worry about it too much.
he may be using his neck muscles to support the lift, rather than his abdominal muscles. a lot of students complain of a similar constriction in the neck while doing abdominal movements (from reclining), and then end up coughing and such. it takes a while to figure out how to access the right muscles.
i would encourage him to keep going if that is what he wants, telling him to pay attention to alignment and form as best he can, to come out when it feels like too much.
it's ok, remember, he is also his own teacher. |
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| emeleee,
Do you have this student do bridge? If so what are the results?
jimg |
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| Hi,
This student came back to class yesterday and we tried more height but it didn't help with the coughing. However, he did seem more comfortable in the pose so I guess he did need more height anyway. We experimented with different heights and I really think we’ve got the right level for him now.
I did ask him after class if he suffered from reflux - I'm in Cyprus and he wasn’t familiar with the English word but he did explain that he had been born with a problem with his oesophagus and needed an operation to fix it but had never got around to having it done. So it seems that the coughing is probably coming from this.
Despite the coughing though, and most importantly, he seemed much more relaxed in shoulderstand & halasana so the extra height has really made a difference.
Jim – he does do bridge with no problems.
Thanks again for all your help.
Emily
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Coughing in Halasana?
