Shoulderstand, also known as Candle, is often called the 'Queen of asanas'. Together with the Headstand this is one of the most important Hatha Yoga poses ...Shoulderstand–SarvangasanaYouarehere:HomeShoulderstand–Sarvangasana0Shoulderstand,alsoknownasCandle,isoftencalledthe‘Queenofasanas’.TogetherwiththeHeadstandthisisoneofthemostimportantHathaYogaposesbecauseofthenumerousbenefitsoftheseposesonboththebodyandthemind.TheSanskritname“Sarvangasana”,literallymeans“alllimbspose”becausetheCandle,whichmainlyhasapositiveeffectonthethyroidgland,improvesthemetabolismandthereforetheproperfunctioningoftheentirebody.BasicinstructionsLiedownontheback,withyourfeettogetherandarmsnexttoyourbody.Keepingyourheadandneckonthefloor,breatheinasyouliftbothlegsto90degrees.Asyouliftyourhipsuptowardtheceiling,placeyourhandsontoyourhipsandwalkyourhandsuptowardyourshoulderblades.Liftyourhipsupashighasyoucan,bringingyourchesttowardyourchin.Keepyourbacksupportedwithyourhandsandmakesurethatyourfeetendupstraightaboveyourhead.Breatheslowlyinthispositionandfocusonthethroatregion.ComingoutoftheposeSlowlydropyourfeettowardsyourheadandplaceyourhandsonthefloor,keepyourheadonthefloorandslowlyroleoutofthepose.BenefitsofShoulderstandRegularpracticeinasteady,comfortablemannerwithinabalancedyogaasanaprogramstimulatestheThroatChakraandthereforestimulatesyourthyroidandparathyroidglands,improvingtheiroverallfunctioningandthereforebalancingthemetabolism,digestion,andinsulinproduction;slowsdownyourheartrateandlowersbloodpressure,givingyourheartarestandreducingstrainonyourheart;activatesyourparasympatheticnervoussystem,ensuringtheproperfunctionofallinternalprocessessuchasdigestionandeliminationaswellashormonalbalance;improvesvenousreturnofbloodfromyourlegsandthereforeishighlybeneficialforvaricoseveinsandhemorrhoids;encouragesdeepabdominalbreathing(becausetheuseofthetopportionofthelungsislimited),thereforeincreasingtheeffectivenessofeachbreath;improvesdigestionandcuresconstipationasitreleasesgravitationalcompressiono