{"id":3327,"date":"2025-02-19T23:24:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/mastering-the-scorpion-pose-vrschikasana.html"},"modified":"2025-02-19T23:24:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:24:35","slug":"mastering-the-scorpion-pose-vrschikasana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/mastering-the-scorpion-pose-vrschikasana.html","title":{"rendered":"Mastering the Scorpion Pose (Vrschikasana)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Balancing yoga poses are an invigorating challenge. Balancing poses where you are also upside down are even better! Scorpion pose, or vrischikasana in Sanskrit, is a challenging yoga inversion that tests your concentration and your flexibility.<\/p>\n<p>Think you\u2019ve got enough physicality and mental confidence? Read on to work your way into scorpion pose.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"What-is-Scorpion-Pose?\">What Is Scorpion Pose?<\/h2>\n<p>Scorpion pose is an advanced-level, backbend pose that uses your entire body\u2019s strength to get upside down while balancing on your forearms.<\/p>\n<p>To create the large \u201cC\u201d curve of scorpion pose, we suggest prepping your body beforehand to strengthen and lengthen your spine. Try spine-stretching poses like cat and cow pose, camel pose, and dolphin pose.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"How-To-Do-Scorpion-Pose\">Scorpion Pose: Step-by-Step Instructions<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Begin in a forearm plank with your hands about shoulder-width, elbows in, and shoulder blades drawn down and back. Spread your fingers wide and root down through your fingertips.<\/li>\n<li>Remaining on your forearms, walk your toes toward your elbows to enter dolphin plank pose.<\/li>\n<li>From dolphin, aim to align your hips over your shoulders before moving into forearm stand. Stack your hips over your shoulders. Engage your upper body, and lift one leg into the air. Try hopping (to build momentum) with your grounded foot until you can lift both legs into the air.<\/li>\n<li>Once you stick forearm stand, start to bend your back into a \u201cC\u201d-shape by moving your hips toward the front of your mat and dipping your feet down toward the crown of your head (imagine a scorpion tail). Gaze ahead to protect your spine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to Progress to a Scorpion Pose<\/h2>\n<p>The scorpion pose isn\u2019t one you\u2019ll get on your first try. However, you can try these tips to build the strength and confidence to express the move fully.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Practice backbends<\/h3>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-167413\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/07142455\/backbend-600-wheel-pose.png\" alt=\"Man Holds Wheel Pose | Backbends\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Use postures like wheel pose (urdhva dhanurasana) to start working on the mobility you need to create the \u201cC\u201d shape with your spine in scorpion pose.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Master the forearm stand<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-178835\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/23121255\/scorpion-pose-600-forearm-stand-Pincha-Mayurasana.jpg\" alt=\"forearm stand | scorpion pose\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Scorpion pose demands significant shoulder and core strength, which you can build with the forearm stand, a.k.a. feathered peacock (pincha mayurasana).<\/p>\n<h3>3. Use a wall<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-178836\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/23121331\/scorpion-pose-600-wall.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve developed enough strength and mobility, you can start trying the full expression of the move.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of my favorite ways to get into scorpion pose is against a wall,\u201d says Derise Anjanette, a 500 E-RYT Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher in Boulder, Colorado. \u201cThe wall makes the pose really, really accessible for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"What-Muscle-Does-This-Pose-Work?\">Scorpion Pose: Muscles Worked<\/h2>\n<p>Scorpion pose stretches and strengthens all at once. When in the pose, you\u2019ll be working your core, back, arms, and legs. You\u2019ll be stretching your chest, shoulders, and spine, while also opening up your quads and hip flexors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe quads have to be really open with the knees bent,\u201d says Anjanette. \u201cAnd the other danger of the pose is dumping into your low back. Focus on drawing the heart forward and engaging those serratus muscles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The serratus muscles are the muscles that are on the upper and outer sides of your chest that help bring your sternum forward and broaden through the pecs.<\/p>\n<p>Because yoga is also a mental practice, scorpion pose can push your limits when it comes to fear and vulnerability while working on your balance and concentration.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-163862 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14131340\/Scorpion-Pose-600-Pin.png\" alt=\"Woman Holds Scorpion Pose with BODi Pin | Scorpion Pose\" width=\"500\" height=\"750\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Balancing yoga poses are an invigorating challenge. Balancing poses where you are also upside down are even better! Scorpion pose, or vrischikasana in Sanskrit, is a challenging yoga inversion that tests your concentration and your flexibility. Think you\u2019ve got enough physicality and mental confidence? Read on to work your way into scorpion pose. What Is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-3327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","tag-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3329,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3327\/revisions\/3329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}