SALABHASANA - LOCUST POSE BENEFITS

Salabhasana - Locust pose week

This week we focused on the locust pose known as salabhasana in Sanskrit. Salabha means a Locust. The name comes from the posture looking like a locust resting on the ground (well here its on a flower).

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This posture and the many variations you can practice has so many wonderful benefits. Lets list just a few.

• Aids Digestion
• Relieves gastric troubles and flatulence
• Relieves pain in the back, both the sacral and lumbar regions
• The bladder and prostate glands also benefit from this posture and remain healthy
• Stimulates the sympathetic nerve system
• Helps posture
• Promotes Kidney function 
• Tones the bum 
• Relieves stress

So as you can see many benefits to doing this pose.

So on a metaphysical level the spine represents the support of life. When we have trouble in the back may be its time to look a bit deep. The metaphysical cause is the deeper under lying reason as to why we are experiencing the pain and the body is trying to give you signals so that you can address the issues. Below i have listed the three areas of the back and i have touched on the metaphysical reflection.

Upper back (which we worked on) - Lack of emotional support, feeling unloved, holding back
Middle Back - Guilt, Stuck in all that stuff back there "Get off my back"
Lower Back - Fear of money, lack of financial support

So this is just a really brief description but each (33 vertebrae) vertebrae represents a metaphysical reflection but i am not going to going into that just now.

We worked on the heart space this week and as you can see above (if your struggling with this area of the back) it is connected to feeling unloved or holding back love along with a few other things. We worked on opening up the upper back and heart (heart chakra) by breathing into this space and practicing locust to create more space. This allows us to breath through things restricting us and in time allowing us to begin to give and receive more love freely - helping us break through insecurities and fears.

So if you feel a lack of love or you feel blocked to give love allow yourself to focus on this space, breath and may be practce this wonderful pose but make sure you warm up before going straight into any yoga pose.

We can all do with breathing into this space as well as working into back bends that nurture the spine.
Even if you do not have any problems in this upper area it will only do you good, as you will open up and allow your spine to recieve aswell as getting all the physical benefits i have listed above. 

"Love is the bridge between you and everything" Rumi.

Below is a little video i created to share love and locust pose with you. I have added most variations we did in class apart from supported leg lift locust.

I have included the full locust (above and in video) which we didn't do as i would want to do one to one for safety reasons. But i am going to do a tutorial video for variations this week.

An affirmation you may wish to use if you are struggling in your upper back is:

"I love and approve of myself. Life supports and loves me."

References/resources

Books: 

You Can Heal Your Life [Paperback]

Louise Hay

• ISBN-10: 9780937611012
• ISBN-13: 978-0937611012
• ASIN: 0937611018

Heal Your Body [Paperback]

Louise Hay

• Publisher: Hay House UK; 4th Ed., Expanded, Rev edition (1 July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0937611352
• ISBN-13: 978-0937611357

http://www.vitalaffirmations.com/health/healingaffirmations.htm#.UwpZCDd6yrA

http://www.compassionatedragon.com/metaphysics2.html

http://www.ecoutetoncorps.com/en/online-resources/metaphysical-definitions-20-illnessesdiseasesdisorders/

http://keeperofbalance.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/louise-hay-list-of-common-illnesses-and.html

http://www.vitalaffirmations.com/health/backupper.htm#.UwpZEzd6yrA