Side Shoulderstand
पार्श्व सर्वाङ्गासन
Pārśva Sarvāṅgāsana — an advanced inversion that works the obliques, shoulders, abdominals.
How to do Side Shoulderstand
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Establish a steady supported shoulderstand on folded blankets with the legs vertical.
Keep both hands firmly on the back with the elbows shoulder-width apart.
Turn the pelvis and both legs to the right, letting the torso lean onto the right hand.
Keep the legs together and straight, and keep the head and neck completely still.
Return to vertical, rebalance, then repeat to the left and lower down slowly.
Hold: 15–30 seconds each side. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Side Shoulderstand does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Adds a rotation to the inverted vertical stack, which the obliques must control.
- Shifts more of the load onto one arm, increasing the demand on that shoulder.
- Trains the trunk to hold a line while the pelvis turns away from the shoulders.
Side Shoulderstand is one of 20 inversions in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses where the head sits below the heart. The group that needs the most care and the most teaching.
Who should skip Side Shoulderstand, or change it
- Glaucoma or raised pressure in the eye, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Neck or cervical spine injury — never turn the head in this pose, and skip it if the neck is at all sensitive.
- Pregnancy — do not begin here; continuing an established inversion practice is a decision for you and your doctor.
- Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions during a period, a personal choice rather than a medical rule.
- Recent ear infection, any disc injury or sacroiliac irritation — and learn this with a qualified teacher after shoulderstand is solid.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Side Shoulderstand
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeLetting the head turn as the legs go across.
FixKeep the eyes on the ceiling and the head absolutely still; the neck is loaded here.
MistakeHips dropping away as the legs travel sideways.
FixPress the supporting hand firmly into the back and keep the legs high.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Side Shoulderstand is mapped to the nearest published code — 02175, yoga, Power, 4 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Side Shoulderstand?
Establish a steady supported shoulderstand on folded blankets with the legs vertical. Keep both hands firmly on the back with the elbows shoulder-width apart. Turn the pelvis and both legs to the right, letting the torso lean onto the right hand. Keep the legs together and straight, and keep the head and neck completely still. Return to vertical, rebalance, then repeat to the left and lower down slowly. Hold for 15–30 seconds each side.
What does Side Shoulderstand work?
Primarily the obliques, shoulders, abdominals, with the triceps, spinal erectors, glutes assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: adds a rotation to the inverted vertical stack, which the obliques must control.
Who should not do Side Shoulderstand?
Glaucoma or raised pressure in the eye, and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Neck or cervical spine injury — never turn the head in this pose, and skip it if the neck is at all sensitive. Pregnancy — do not begin here; continuing an established inversion practice is a decision for you and your doctor. Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions during a period, a personal choice rather than a medical rule. Recent ear infection, any disc injury or sacroiliac irritation — and learn this with a qualified teacher after shoulderstand is solid. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Side Shoulderstand suitable for beginners?
No. Side Shoulderstand is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate inversions poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Side Shoulderstand burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Side Shoulderstand sits closest to Compendium code 02175, yoga, Power, at 4 MET — about 147 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More inversions — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.