Variation 1 : Lie prone (face down) on the
blanket and keep the hands alongside the body, palms up. Rest
the chin on the ground by raising the head a little. Now inhale
slowly. Stiffen the whole body and raise the legs high. The
knees should be kept straight. The sacrum too should be raised
a little along with legs. Now the chest and the hands will
feel the burden of the legs. Keep the thighs, legs, and toes
in a straight line. Remain in the pose for twenty seconds
and slowly come down. Repeat the process three or four times
according to your capacity.
Variation 2 : This is practiced by alternately
lifting the legs. As you progress in this half pose, then
you can start lifting both legs simultaneously. It is a preliminary
to the complete salabhasan.
Variation
3 : In this position, the cervical region and ligaments
are used more. In the first variety, the sacrum and lumbar regions
are used. The technique is the same except that more force must
be used on the hands to raise the body till the whole body rests
on the chin. This exerts tremendous pressure on the back muscles
and shoulder muscles (platysma, trapezius, splenius capitis,
sternocleidomastoid) and the biceps and deltoids of the upper
arms and thereby stretches the muscles and tendons and increases
the blood circulation.
This exercise, when it is performed correctly, looks exactly
opposite to the shoulderstand.
Variation 4 : In the position of salabhasan,
keep the hands behind and raise the chin. Now without the
help of the hands and chin, the legs and chest are raised,
and one rests on the abdomen.
Variation 5 : The technique here is the same
as for variation 4, except that the arms are stretched forward,
bringing the fingertips and tip of the toes to the same level.
This forms the shape of a boat.
