Can anyone do the "plow" yoga pose?

[EddieBrock]

I'm trying a new workout and part of it is yoga. One of the moves is called "plow" where you lie down and lift your legs up over your head and put them on the floor behind your head. There's no way I'm getting anyone near that. I can left my legs up in the air, but can't get them behind my head to even touch the wall.

In the video everyone just does this like it's the most normal thing in the world. Can most people who have tried yoga do this?

Halasana Yoga Pose Proper Form, Variations, and Common Mistakes

Plow pose (Halasana) is a mild yoga inversion and preparation for Shoulderstand. Learn how to use props to get you safely in and out of this pose.

www.verywellfit.com

 

[RogueFLIP]

I don't do "yoga".....I do a few postures here and there that I few useful for static stretches. Never heard of this posture till you mentioned it but I did it. Not very comfortable I must admit, lot of tension in my back.

 

[movdqa]

My hamstrings are way too tight to try something like that.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

I can do that. And I did it on the first try when I started w yoga years ago.

 

[EddieBrock]

I can do that. And I did it on the first try when I started w yoga years ago.

It just took me by surprise that with most moves that I can't do they acknowledge some people won't be able to reach as far as the people in the video do. With this one it's just "time to do plow".

I found some videos on youtube that show it and one that shows a modification, which is a reverse crunch.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

It just took me by surprise that with most moves that I can't do they acknowledge some people won't be able to reach as far as the people in the video do. With this one it's just "time to do plow".

I found some videos on youtube that show it and one that shows a modification, which is a reverse crunch.

I did Ashtanga yoga for years. That asana isn’t the most difficult one!

 

[EddieBrock]

I did Ashtanga yoga for years. That asana isn’t the most difficult one!

I've never been very flexible, which is part of the reason why I wanted to try the yoga workouts of the program. Another reason is I keep getting injured playing tennis and I think maybe my poor flexibility has something to do with it. I can only imagine the crazy yoga moves out there. My one yoga class was both humiliating and hilarious with how bad I was at it.

 

[T1000]

I like to plow in the plow position

 

[Sentinel]

I'm trying a new workout and part of it is yoga. One of the moves is called "plow" where you lie down and lift your legs up over your head and put them on the floor behind your head. There's no way I'm getting anyone near that. I can left my legs up in the air, but can't get them behind my head to even touch the wall.

In the video everyone just does this like it's the most normal thing in the world. Can most people who have tried yoga do this?

Halasana Yoga Pose Proper Form, Variations, and Common Mistakes

Plow pose (Halasana) is a mild yoga inversion and preparation for Shoulderstand. Learn how to use props to get you safely in and out of this pose.

www.verywellfit.com

If you are young and supple its okay. But be careful if you have back issues.

I would recommend the cobra pose, simple and great for the back. Lie on your stomach and press up your chest.
Another one is to lie on your stomach, and raise each leg slightly for ten seconds, alternately.

 

[Azure]

I'm trying a new workout and part of it is yoga. One of the moves is called "plow" where you lie down and lift your legs up over your head and put them on the floor behind your head. There's no way I'm getting anyone near that. I can left my legs up in the air, but can't get them behind my head to even touch the wall.

In the video everyone just does this like it's the most normal thing in the world. Can most people who have tried yoga do this?

Halasana Yoga Pose Proper Form, Variations, and Common Mistakes

Plow pose (Halasana) is a mild yoga inversion and preparation for Shoulderstand. Learn how to use props to get you safely in and out of this pose.

www.verywellfit.com

Yes, I do it every morning and can hold it for 90 sec. My preparatory poses are

1. 12 rounds of Surya namaskar (sun salutations or 24 half rounds)
2. Trikonasan (Triangle pose)
3. Cat-Cow pose (5 times, inhaling and exhaling)
4. Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand) for 90 secs.

It is only after the above that I get into Halasana or the plow pose. It is also very important to do counter poses - for this the counter poses are Bhujangasana (cobra pose), Dhanurasana (Bow pose) and Ustrasana (Camel pose)

I have been doing it for a while so my back is supple. This is an intermediate-advanced pose. Don't do it if you don't have enough practice and don't do preparatory poses. If you need help you can use yoga blocks. You don't have to touch your feet on the ground. You will slowly get it over time. Although I am not a big fan of yoga over videos, this particular guy gives very precise instructions on how yogic poses should be done.

Hope this helps.

 

[EddieBrock]

Yes, I do it every morning and can hold it for 90 sec. My preparatory poses are

1. 12 rounds of Surya namaskar (sun salutations or 24 half rounds)
2. Trikonasan (Triangle pose)
3. Cat-Cow pose (5 times, inhaling and exhaling)
4. Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand) for 90 secs.

It is only after the above that I get into Halasana or the plow pose. It is also very important to do counter poses - for this the counter poses are Bhujangasana (cobra pose), Dhanurasana (Bow pose) and Ustrasana (Camel pose)

I have been doing it for a while so my back is supple. This is an intermediate-advanced pose. Don't do it if you don't have enough practice and don't do preparatory poses. If you need help you can use yoga blocks. You don't have to touch your feet on the ground. You will slowly get it over time. Although I am not a big fan of yoga over videos, this particular guy gives very precise instructions on how yogic poses should be done.

Hope this helps.

The "plow pose" comes at the end of the 30 minute yoga video so I will be warmed up before trying it. Yes, the video you posted is extremely helpful! I'm going to try the bent leg version tomorrow.

It also appears in a core workout, but I will try reverse crunches for that.

As far as yoga I'm the biggest beginner in the world. I don't have yoga blocks, but was thinking of stacking some books up. I've heard that Djokovic and a lot of athletes do yoga so I'm willing to try it. This is pretty much how my 1st and only attempt at a yoga class went...

 

[EddieBrock]

If you are young and supple its okay. But be careful if you have back issues.

I would recommend the cobra pose, simple and great for the back. Lie on your stomach and press up your chest.
Another one is to lie on your stomach, and raise each leg slightly for ten seconds, alternately.

I've been doing the cobra pose and I agree it's a good one.

 

[40L0VE]

Yes as far as touching my toes on the floor but to do it with the form shown, straight'ish back and straight legs I'd need to do stretching exercises specifically for this type of pose.

 

[Azure]

The "plow pose" comes at the end of the 30 minute yoga video so I will be warmed up before trying it. Yes, the video you posted is extremely helpful! I'm going to try the bent leg version tomorrow.

It also appears in a core workout, but I will try reverse crunches for that.

As far as yoga I'm the biggest beginner in the world. I don't have yoga blocks, but was thinking of stacking some books up. I've heard that Djokovic and a lot of athletes do yoga so I'm willing to try it. This is pretty much how my 1st and only attempt at a yoga class went...

Unfortunately the video is not available in my region but I can imagine being a beginner. It takes time to get into poses - you are trying to bend your back to an extent it has never been before.

Depends on what you are looking to get out of your poses though. If its weight loss, its going to take a much longer time than Cardio for example, but if you are looking to be flexible, have an excellent digestive system or regulate your hormones, activate certain glands etc, yoga is almost magical. Yoga does take up a significant amount of time though - I spend an hour doing yoga every morning and I do only half the poses I want to do. When I do a HIIT, in 30 mins I am doing a lot more, but yoga is just absolutely essential for me - it kind of energizes me for the day.

Poses don't come easily though, it takes time to get flexibility. Just remember to do do a warm up and counter poses for every pose you do. You will not end up straining any muscle that way. Also, I don't believe in "mixing" cardio with yoga except light poses as a cool down. Yoga is meant to be done slowly with plenty of relaxation between the poses. You ideally should be able to take long breaths while being in the pose.

 

[tennisbike]

I agree that having good flexibility or range of motion is a good thing. But stay safe..

I started doing yoga when I was little from dad. I used to stretch every night, doing including the plow. My favorite way to end the evening's session was lifting my legs over my head and eventually rest my knee above my head then gradually lift it back up and slowly, ever slowly bring legs back down to the floor to a corp position to rest.

I read that research done on runner shows that the number of injury occur much high in the population who stretch. It basically says stretching leads to more injury. Also Russian research also shows that static stretch reduce muscle strength. Thus never do static stretch before an event.

The word stretching for me has changed from something beneficial to something potentially hazardous to do.

My philosophy now is that .. one must always has sufficient muscular strength for whatever the range of motion one has. I would rather have lower ROM than strength. It is perfectly safe for an elderly person to lose a bit of ROM. But if the person has not enough strength for his/her ROM, then an injury will surely occur. There is no but.. I witnessed a dancer who can stretch themselves to injury.

Be very very careful with your spine. My lower back clicks.. it might have something to do with over stretching my back. It is better to have a little less ROM than strength, think about it. Bad back never really completely healed. It can be managed though.

Having a certain ROM is not the end goal. It never is. Don't hurt yourself.

Be careful! That is all I am saying.

 

[EddieBrock]

Unfortunately the video is not available in my region but I can imagine being a beginner. It takes time to get into poses - you are trying to bend your back to an extent it has never been before.

Depends on what you are looking to get out of your poses though. If its weight loss, its going to take a much longer time than Cardio for example, but if you are looking to be flexible, have an excellent digestive system or regulate your hormones, activate certain glands etc, yoga is almost magical. Yoga does take up a significant amount of time though - I spend an hour doing yoga every morning and I do only half the poses I want to do. When I do a HIIT, in 30 mins I am doing a lot more, but yoga is just absolutely essential for me - it kind of energizes me for the day.

Poses don't come easily though, it takes time to get flexibility. Just remember to do do a warm up and counter poses for every pose you do. You will not end up straining any muscle that way. Also, I don't believe in "mixing" cardio with yoga except light poses as a cool down. Yoga is meant to be done slowly with plenty of relaxation between the poses. You ideally should be able to take long breaths while being in the pose.

The video was just a funny scene from a TV show where people struggled with basic yoga.

Out of the poses my main goal is get more flexible to help me avoid injury when playing tennis and doing other exercises. In the last 5 years or so I've hurt my pectoral muscle, calf, tricep, and elbow. Then I'm forced to take time off from tennis and exercise and end up putting weight, which causes a cycle of me wanting to exercise more to get rid of it.

 

[EddieBrock]

I agree that having good flexibility or range of motion is a good thing. But stay safe..

I started doing yoga when I was little from dad. I used to stretch every night, doing including the plow. My favorite way to end the evening's session was lifting my legs over my head and eventually rest my knee above my head then gradually lift it back up and slowly, ever slowly bring legs back down to the floor to a corp position to rest.

I read that research done on runner shows that the number of injury occur much high in the population who stretch. It basically says stretching leads to more injury. Also Russian research also shows that static stretch reduce muscle strength. Thus never do static stretch before an event.

The word stretching for me has changed from something beneficial to something potentially hazardous to do.

My philosophy now is that .. one must always has sufficient muscular strength for whatever the range of motion one has. I would rather have lower ROM than strength. It is perfectly safe for an elderly person to lose a bit of ROM. But if the person has not enough strength for his/her ROM, then an injury will surely occur. There is no but.. I witnessed a dancer who can stretch themselves to injury.

Be very very careful with your spine. My lower back clicks.. it might have something to do with over stretching my back. It is better to have a little less ROM than strength, think about it. Bad back never really completely healed. It can be managed though.

Having a certain ROM is not the end goal. It never is. Don't hurt yourself.

Be careful! That is all I am saying.

I think I'm just going to lift my legs up and do crunches instead of attempting to do that plow position. I think it would be cool if i could be like Djokovic and stretch more for shots and have greater ROM, but of all my fitness priorities it is pretty low on the list. Like I said before my main goal is injury prevention.

I'd say my priorities in order are... overall health, weight loss, increased endurance for tennis, stronger legs for tennis, overall strength and looking good to help with dating, then ROM

 

[movdqa]

You can do some serious damage doing Yoga and I assess Yoga Poses and consider whether or not I can realistically do them and if there is a benefit that I really want.

 

[tennisbike]

I think I'm just going to lift my legs up and do crunches instead of attempting to do that plow position. I think it would be cool if i could be like Djokovic and stretch more for shots and have greater ROM, but of all my fitness priorities it is pretty low on the list. Like I said before my main goal is injury prevention.

I'd say my priorities in order are... overall health, weight loss, increased endurance for tennis, stronger legs for tennis, overall strength and looking good to help with dating, then ROM

I do recommend Taichi, or simply Stand. As I grew older, the more I recognize the significance of stable leg/core. The ability to stand, walk, staying erect as a proper biped is the most essential quality of life. Taichi like slow movement in contemporary world is generally not considered "exercise" because it does not promote high heart rate and exceedingly high respiration rate and focus on particular muscle group. The movements generally encourage whole body/or groups of muscles working together in a holistic way. Not to mention, there is mental/spiritual aspect that is helpful in activating our parasympathetic nervous system.
Just relax.. no worries!

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I'm trying a new workout and part of it is yoga. One of the moves is called "plow" where you lie down and lift your legs up over your head and put them on the floor behind your head. There's no way I'm getting anyone near that. I can left my legs up in the air, but can't get them behind my head to even touch the wall.

Know your limitations and go slowly: the point is to increase flexibility and strength but to do it in a controlled fashion. One is not supposed to injure oneself doing yoga.

I think your experience is typical of a lot of people. It certainly doesn't look like a beginner exercise.

I'm more flexible than most and I could easily get my legs to parallel with the ground but going beyond that to where my toes touch the ground would take a lot more hamstring stretching. I'd probably have more success after a workout as part of my static stretching cool down as opposed to doing it cold.

In the video everyone just does this like it's the most normal thing in the world. Can most people who have tried yoga do this?

Don't assume that everyone is the video is average: they were likely picked for very particular reasons. Exercise videos are full of good looking, fit, and well-toned people: do I or any of my friends look like that? For the most part, no. That's why we don't get asked to be in exercise videos.

OTOH, if they roamed the street and asked people at random to do a certain yoga pose and everyone could easily do it, that's another matter.

 

[downunder]

Its difficult to remove the sports attitude when doing yoga. With yoga you really really have to stop thinking about goals (as you do in sport) and starting thinking about journey or process instead. Otherwise you end up with injuries. The more advanced yoga poses usually have simpler progression poses. Plow pose puts your neck and spine at risk.

If you must have goals, try changing from the goal of "achieving some pose quickly" to the goal of "being more flexible" or feeling better.

 

[E46luver]

Dangerous pose. Many people have done serious damage putting weight onto their necks. When I am in a yoga class, I opt out of this pose

 

[movdqa]

Dangerous pose. Many people have done serious damage putting weight onto their necks. When I am in a yoga class, I opt out of this pose

I read an article several years ago on Yoga injuries and some of them can be quite serious. I'm very selective on which poses I will try and will get someone to spot if I attempt something that I'm not sure of. I think that Yoga can be as dangerous as weightlifting.

 

[E46luver]

Do not do anything that feels dangerous and wrong.
Yoga is another form of quackery with ignorant yoga teachers posing as medical experts.
People have reported strokes from yoga after tearing their carotid artery.

https://www.nytimes.com./2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html

Normally, the neck can stretch backward 75 degrees, forward 40 degrees and sideways 45 degrees, and it can rotate on its axis about 50 degrees. Yoga practitioners typically move the vertebrae much farther. An intermediate student can easily turn his or her neck 90 degrees — nearly twice the normal rotation.

Hyperflexion of the neck was encouraged by experienced practitioners. Iyengar emphasized that in cobra pose, the head should arch “as far back as possible” and insisted that in the shoulder stand, in which the chin is tucked deep in the chest, the trunk and head forming a right angle, “the body should be in one straight line, perpendicular to the floor.” He called the pose, said to stimulate the thyroid, “one of the greatest boons conferred on humanity by our ancient sages.”

A healthy woman of 28 suffered a stroke while doing a yoga position known as the wheel or upward bow, in which the practitioner lies on her back, then lifts her body into a semicircular arc, balancing on hands and feet. An intermediate stage often involves raising the trunk and resting the crown of the head on the floor. While balanced on her head, her neck bent far backward, the woman “suddenly felt a severe throbbing headache.” Her doctors found that the woman’s left vertebral artery, which runs between the first two cervical vertebrae, had narrowed considerably and that the arteries feeding her cerebellum had undergone severe displacement.

. His routine included spinal twists in which he rotated his head far to the left and far to the right. Then he would do a shoulder stand with his neck “maximally flexed against the bare floor,” just as Iyengar had instructed, remaining in the inversion for about five minutes. A series of bruises ran down the man’s lower neck, which, the team wrote in The Archives of Neurology, “resulted from repeated contact with the hard floor surface on which he did yoga exercises.” These were a sign of neck trauma. Diagnostic tests revealed blockages of the left vertebral artery between the c2 and c3 vertebrae; the blood vessel there had suffered “total or nearly complete occlusion” — in other words, no blood could get through to the brain. Two months after his attack, and after much physical therapy, the man was able to walk with a cane.

 

[EddieBrock]

Do not do anything that feels dangerous and wrong.
Yoga is another form of quackery with ignorant yoga teachers posing as medical experts.
People have reported strokes from yoga after tearing their carotid artery.

https://www.nytimes.com./2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html

This is very good information and I had no idea about it! For some reason I always thought yoga is what you did when you were tired and it helped relax you and help you rehab from injuries. Never thought it would cause injuries! What do you think of Pilates or Thai Chi?

 

[EddieBrock]

Know your limitations and go slowly: the point is to increase flexibility and strength but to do it in a controlled fashion. One is not supposed to injure oneself doing yoga.

I think your experience is typical of a lot of people. It certainly doesn't look like a beginner exercise.

I'm more flexible than most and I could easily get my legs to parallel with the ground but going beyond that to where my toes touch the ground would take a lot more hamstring stretching. I'd probably have more success after a workout as part of my static stretching cool down as opposed to doing it cold.



Don't assume that everyone is the video is average: they were likely picked for very particular reasons. Exercise videos are full of good looking, fit, and well-toned people: do I or any of my friends look like that? For the most part, no. That's why we don't get asked to be in exercise videos.

OTOH, if they roamed the street and asked people at random to do a certain yoga pose and everyone could easily do it, that's another matter.

I was curious of your average tennis player off the street should be able to do this. Like I mentioned before in the yoga video he has this as the last move. No warning, no "here's a modification" or anything. Then in the core workout he throws this in rapid fire with a core exercise. I'm trying to follow the program, but out of all the exercises this was the one that I just threw my hands up and said it looks like trouble.

Guess I won't get invited into these exercise videos anytime soon. I'm just going to keep working on my tennis game and flexibility.

 

[E46luver]

What do you think of Pilates or Thai Chi?

Pilates is an excellent core workout.
Tai Chi is nonsense

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Pilates is an excellent core workout.
Tai Chi is nonsense

Tai Chi is "mediation in motion". Doing it in a group is invigorating. Works on balance too.

 

[Azure]

Do not do anything that feels dangerous and wrong.
Yoga is another form of quackery with ignorant yoga teachers posing as medical experts.
People have reported strokes from yoga after tearing their carotid artery.

https://www.nytimes.com./2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html

No, yoga is not quackery at all. Its a phenomenal lifestyle - everyone needs to listen to their body and understand their limitations. For every quote about yoga you posted, I can find similar quotes for any form of exercise or sport out there. People have had strokes playing sports like football, tennis etc too.

For pilates, look what I found

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...duce-pain-improve-posture-hidden-dangers.html

Ultimately its about you understanding what is right for you and to go with the flow.

 

[sovertennis]

You can do some serious damage doing Yoga and I assess Yoga Poses and consider whether or not I can realistically do them and if there is a benefit that I really want.

Absolutely true. OP--"plow" pose, if done incorrectly, can put undo strain and cause injury to your spine and neck. You must squeeze your shoulder blades together so the base of the pose rest there, not on your spine/neck.

I do a lot of yoga and only do this pose toward the end of a practice, after my lower back and hamstrings are very, very loose.

 

[sovertennis]

I was curious of your average tennis player off the street should be able to do this. Like I mentioned before in the yoga video he has this as the last move. No warning, no "here's a modification" or anything. Then in the core workout he throws this in rapid fire with a core exercise. I'm trying to follow the program, but out of all the exercises this was the one that I just threw my hands up and said it looks like trouble.

Guess I won't get invited into these exercise videos anytime soon. I'm just going to keep working on my tennis game and flexibility.

Eddie--If you're using a Youtube vid as the basis for your practice, you should skip the asanas that you cannot do correctly, or pause the vid while you determine if you can do the pose. If you can't, just stay in the pose you can do and move along with the vid after the pose you can't do is complete. Or just go to down dog.

 

[EddieBrock]

Eddie--If you're using a Youtube vid as the basis for your practice, you should skip the asanas that you cannot do correctly, or pause the vid while you determine if you can do the pose. If you can't, just stay in the pose you can do and move along with the vid after the pose you can't do is complete. Or just go to down dog.

I was doing p90x3 and am trying to workout while following along the video. Usually Tony Horton will say if a yoga move is challenging or give modifications. What really stumped me was that he just throws this at you in both workouts. Especially to go in and out of it in rapid fire with the synergistics workout. I'm definitely skipping the ones I can't do. Sometimes I'll pause it to try and figure it out and can usually do the modified move. I actually called a yoga studio about a private lesson to show me the form but it was outrageously expensive. Like over $100 an hour.

 

[sovertennis]

I was doing p90x3 and am trying to workout while following along the video. Usually Tony Horton will say if a yoga move is challenging or give modifications. What really stumped me was that he just throws this at you in both workouts. Especially to go in and out of it in rapid fire with the synergistics workout. I'm definitely skipping the ones I can't do. Sometimes I'll pause it to try and figure it out and can usually do the modified move. I actually called a yoga studio about a private lesson to show me the form but it was outrageously expensive. Like over $100 an hour.

Yes, private yoga practices are, IMO, prohibitively expensive. If the youtube vid you're watching includes too many poses that are beyond your ability, try an easier instructor. Yogiapproved.com--a youtube channel--has many vids for all levels and also a series of "how to" (do particular poses).

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Not sure I can do this yoga plow. Think I'll stick with the snow-plow.

 

[EddieBrock]

Not sure I can do this yoga plow. Think I'll stick with the snow-plow.

Haha. That I can do! Although I prefer the hockey stop.