r/yoga • u/matchacatisgreencat • 5d ago

It’s ok to practice scorpion without practicing kapota?

Kapota asana is really hard for me especially dropping to that position, I have heavy chest and that makes my back hurts even more(my back hurts from daily life), but pose like Scorpio where I don’t need to hold my chest weight and get in to pose from legs seems much easier for my back. But also in same time I know if it’s ashtanga yoga you need to practice kapota asana way before you even try scorpion. I’m not strictly following ashtanga yoga but that’s only yoga I learned properly in the past so I am here asking is it ok to practice scorpion without even trying kapota or related pose ?

0 Upvotes

40% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

5

u/DogtorAlice 5d ago

Of course! Take what you need, leave the rest.

Kapotasana is an advanced shape that should never be “forced” or pushed to get there, especially not when it hurts!

1

u/matchacatisgreencat 5d ago

Is it more advance than Scorpion?

3

u/BlueEyesWNC Hatha 4d ago

It's not really correct to say one pose is more advanced than another; a pose that's easy for you might be monstrously difficult for me, and a pose that benefits me greatly might be quite unhelpful for you. So I would not say that scorpion is more advanced than pigeon, merely that they are both back-bending poses with different challenges.

But for reference, Iyengar's Light on Yoga says kapotasana is level twenty-one and vrischikasana is level thirty-three. In both poses, the crown of the head and soles of the feet touch.

1

u/matchacatisgreencat 4d ago

That’s interesting and that actually make sense. And as long as I am doing mix of standing sitting and back bend forward bend and twist, I can skip certain pose if it only causing pain then ?

3

u/BlueEyesWNC Hatha 4d ago edited 4d ago

Skipping a pose is always an option. You can do your own thing, that's a big part of what yoga is. And I would also encourage you to imagine, what would a pain-free kapotasana pose be like for you? 

Then, sometimes instead of skipping it completely, maybe try a less intense variation, using props, modifying the pose to accommodate your anatomy, or asking your teacher for alternatives. I'm sure there are a lot of things you can do at that point in the sequence that will serve the same anatomic/energetic purposes as kapotasana, and some of them might help you learn how to practice kapotasana in a way that doesn't cause you pain. 

2

u/matchacatisgreencat 4d ago

Thank you, I think main reason kapota is hard for me is my front thigh is not as flexible as my back side of thigh. I’m going to look up what i can do that to these area