Halāsana, the plow pose

Sanskrit

हलासनHalāsana

Meaning of the name

Plow pose: hala, plough, and āsana, posture

Level

Intermediate

Family

Inversion

In the texts

Modern posture, absent from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda Samhita

Hala is the plough, the oldest tool of Indian farming, and in sacred images the weapon of Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa's elder brother, called for that reason Halāyudha, "he whose weapon is the plough". The posture draws the shape of the old wooden plough: the body folded over itself, the legs reaching back to the earth. It is also one of the postures that ask most of the neck, which is why this card begins with the precautions.

What studies say about the risks

No study shows a specific health benefit of the plow itself, so we claim none. What has been studied is the risk side:

• The neck and inversions. A systematic review of 76 published cases of adverse events linked to yoga found headstand, shoulder stand, lotus and forceful breathing among the practices most often cited, and advises beginners to avoid extreme practices (Cramer and colleagues, 2013). The plow is the continuation of the shoulder stand and loads the neck in the same way, more strongly.
• Practising alone. In a national survey of 1,702 practitioners in Germany, hand-, shoulder- and headstands were the practices most often associated with acute adverse effects (29.4 %), and learning without supervision was associated with a higher risk (Cramer and colleagues, 2019).
• Eye pressure. In a small study of ten people with glaucoma and ten without, the pressure inside the eye rose within a minute in four head-down positions; in the plow it rose from about 18 to 22-24 mmHg, and returned to baseline within two minutes of coming out (Jasien and colleagues, 2015). Whether this matters over time is not known; the prudent choice with glaucoma is to avoid inversions.

Steps

1. Fold two or three firm blankets into a neat rectangle. Lie down so that the shoulders are on the blankets and the head on the floor, the top of the shoulders a few centimetres from the edge. Place a chair behind your head, seat facing you, if your feet do not easily reach the floor.
2. Bend the knees, feet flat, arms alongside the body, palms down.
3. Exhaling, press the arms down, bring the knees towards the chest and roll the hips up over the shoulders, as in the shoulder stand. Support the back with the hands.
4. Breathing out, lower the straight legs over the head until the toes rest on the chair seat or on the floor.
5. Keep the hands on the back, or, if the shoulders allow it, stretch the arms on the floor behind you.
6. Keep the head still, the gaze towards the chest, the throat soft. Five breaths at first.
7. To come out, hands on the back, roll down slowly, vertebra by vertebra, the head staying on the floor. Rest on your back, then come up via the side.

Alignment

• The weight rests on the shoulders and the backs of the upper arms, never on the neck; there is space between the neck and the floor.
• The hips stay over the shoulders; if they slide back towards the head, the neck takes the load.
• The legs are straight but not locked; if the hamstrings pull the back round, bend the knees or use the chair.
• The breath stays free. If you cannot breathe easily, the fold is too deep.

Variations

• Feet on a chair (the default for most people): the toes rest on the chair seat; the neck and back are spared.
• Legs up the wall (gentle alternative): lying on the back, legs resting vertically on a wall, a blanket under the hips. No weight on the neck at all.
• Knees bent beside the ears (karṇapīḍāsana, advanced): only for experienced practitioners with a teacher.
• Bridge instead: the bridge opens the chest with the head and neck at ease.

Contraindications

• Neck injury, neck pain, cervical arthritis, spinal osteoporosis or a herniated disc: do not practise.
• Glaucoma, detached retina, recent eye surgery: avoid inversions.
• Uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart disease, history of stroke: avoid.
• Hiatus hernia, reflux, ear or sinus infection: avoid; and always on an empty stomach.
• Pregnancy: avoid; legs up the wall, with your midwife's agreement, is the usual alternative.
• Menstruation: several Indian traditions advise avoiding inversions during the period; this is a traditional recommendation, presented as such.

In the texts

The plow is a modern posture. It appears in neither the Hatha Yoga Pradipika nor the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā, whose thirty-two postures include no inversion at all: the old texts treat turning upside down as a seal, viparīta karaṇī, which "is to be known from the teaching of a guru, not from millions of treatises" (HYP 3.78 in the Sanskrit text on GRETIL). The plow became common through the Indian schools of the twentieth century; in the Sivananda centres it is the third of the twelve basic postures, after the headstand and the shoulder stand, and followed by the fish as a counter-pose. The advice of the old verse still applies: learn it from a teacher.

Related postures

Before: the shoulder stand, from which the plow is entered. After: the fish, its classical counter-pose, then śavāsana. For the other great inversion, see the headstand, and for a gentler back extension, the bridge. All the cards: the asanas chapter.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Jasien JV, Jonas JB, de Moraes CG, Ritch R. Intraocular pressure rise in subjects with and without glaucoma during four common yoga positions. PLoS One, 2015 DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0144505 PMID 26698309 checked October 17, 2026
2. Cramer H, Krucoff C, Dobos G. Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review of published case reports and case series. PLoS One, 2013 DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0075515 PMID 24146758 checked October 17, 2026
3. Cramer H, Quinker D, Schumann D et al. Adverse effects of yoga: a national cross-sectional survey. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2019 DOI 10.1186/s12906-019-2612-7 PMID 31357980 checked October 17, 2026
4. The 12 Basic Asanas, International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres (official site) checked October 17, 2026
5. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), entries hala and halāyudha, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries checked October 17, 2026

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