blanket on the chair's seat, and the shoulders and neck supported on a bolster on the ground. The hands may grasp the back legs of the chair to open the chest. The pose is entered by sitting astride the chair facing the back, lifting the legs on to the back, holding the chair and leaning back, then sliding down until the head reaches the ground. The pose is exited by bending the legs and sliding down carefully. Niralamba Sarvangasana is Unsupported Shoulderstand, with the arms off the ground. Claims for the "mother of asanas" Twentieth century advocates of some schools of yoga, such as B. K. S. Iyengar, made claims for the effects of yoga on specific organs, without adducing any evidence. Iyengar devoted a whole page of Light on Yoga to the beneficial effects of Sarvangasana, claiming that the pose is "one of the greatest boons conferred on humanity by our ancient sages", calling it "the Mother of asanas" and "a panacea for most common ailments." He asserted that the pose had a direct effect on the thyroid and parathyroid glands, explaining that the chin lock increased their blood supply. He stated that the inversion increased venous blood flow to the heart, increasing the blood supply to the neck and chest, and hence relieving "breathlessness, palpitation, asthma, bronchitis and throat ailments." He stated that it soothed the nerves and abolished headaches and with continued practice also the common cold. The soothing of the nerves in turn, he wrote, relieved hypertension, irritation, shortness of temper, nervous breakdown, and insomnia. The inversion assisted, he wrote, with bowel movements. It was useful, Iyengar claimed, for urinary disorders, menstrual problems, piles, hernia, epilepsy, low vitality, and anaemia. Safety Sarvangasana, alongside Sirsasana and Padmasana, is one of the asanas most often reported as the cause of an injury. Iyengar advised against the pose for people with high blood pressure, for whom he recommended halasana instead, as in his view it brought similar benefits. See also List of asanas References Sources External links Step by Step instruction Inverted asanas