Salabhasana (locust) in the bherundasasana version

For me, this has been by far the most challenging pose yet. And also, possibly, the only pose I may hesitate  teaching simply because it is so daunting in terms of intensity; a pose I even now approach with great awe. Maybe one day I will lose my awe of the pose, then I could teach it!!  Just now I am grateful to be able to allowed to practice it, having learnt it when I was over 40!!
. This one is the inverted locust where u jump into the pose. U are on your neck, your chin, crushing  your nape dramatically and with very little breath support due to extreme extension of the lungs and your chest.
This is the first stage of the ganda bherundasana (the terrible face pose, where the legs then drop over the head in the arch!) I can reach the second stage towards that, almost a scorpion pose on your hands... the arch can be rather dramatic. Both poses, in their stages, are rather intense, but exhilarating. There is no other word to describe it.

Iyengar says the pressure on the mooladhara chakra (pelvic), the svadhistana (tailbone) and vishuddhi (throat) improves the functioning of these chakras (the last one may explain why I speak so much and so fast!!:) The key words in Iyengar's description  "increased vitality'.

Preparation:

• Those who do the dramatic full locust (some of my students do a rather fantastic locust, like Jit, Sharmishta when she was attending my class:) can think of mastering this pose.
• I believe the scorpion helps a lot in terms of getting over the fear of the fall on the other side... and also the neck becomes rather supple with scorpion, giving a lot of protection in such poses.

What is needed:

• Strength
• Flexibility 
• Focus 
• Mainly, fearlessness...

Happy sadhana!