Yoga is not about curving, twisting, and turning your body parts and bring something that not only hurts or injures but in the long run it might create various problems in the body also. Yes of course we love to see some difficult yoga postures in reality but it requires a lot of practice and a focus for attaining the posture.
These yoga postures are difficult yoga postures for beginners but with time it can be achieved. Many of these postures require strength, flexibility, balance, and care so you can avoid injuring yourself.
There are few precautions I want to mention initially so that you must be careful about them while practicing.
1. These postures should only be attempted the first time in the presence of a qualified yoga instructor.
2. If you have gone through any operation then please don’t try to do them.
3. Women in their menstruation cycle must not practice them
4. If you have any issue with major organs like lungs, liver, heart, etc., or problem in them please don’t them.
5. Any pain existing previously then these postures might increase the pain.
Here are a few yogasanas I find are quite challenging and the most difficult postures you must practice.
Table of Contents
1. Headstand (Sirsasana)
Sirsasana is one of the asanas which requires strength in the back, thighs, and shoulders. It is considered one of the most difficult yoga postures to master, among others. Headstand also requires mind and body balance and focuses on standing on hand.
If you practice regularly it improves overall body balance, blood pressure. It increases blood circulation and provides a lot of strength in the upper body muscles.
2. The yoga sleep pose (Yoganidrasana)
Yoganidrasana has a lot of similarities with Supta Kurmasana. It is more about folding your body into a knot. This posture can be practiced only when you are pro in bending yourself in the forward direction.
Yoganidrasana can be found in Hatha yoga for bringing calmness to our minds. It can calm the mind, increase flexibility, and helps indigestion.
3. Eight- Angle pose (Ashtavakrasana)
The eight-angle pose (Ashtavakrasana) is a bit challenging as this requires arm strength, very good balance of the body as you need to hold your body in the air close to the ground.
Few steps I can explain as –
1. At first sit on the floor with your legs open and place the palm of your right hand between your legs with the left hand on the outside of your left thigh.
2. Take your left leg and move it in front of your right hand, straighten it out and cross your legs at the ankle to the right side.
3. Now while keeping your balance do a pushup with all the weight being on your arms. This is only for the left side, practice reversely for the right side also.
The benefits are for consideration for your arm, shoulder muscles improvement. Your body flexibility also increases by this process.
4. Crow Pose (Kakasana)
Crow Pose mainly increases the balance of the upper body and hand muscle. Even though it seems cool to perform crow pose, but it can be felt as a difficult yoga posture while performing the asana.
Kakasana is the 10th posture among 12 poses in Hatha yoga.
This brings strength to your arms and shoulders and improves upper body flexibility.
5. The Plow (Halasana)
The plow posture (Halasana) is another tough posture that helps to relax your back and neck. No muscles are strained in this pose because it’s used to help calm and relax you.
The basic posture is to slowly raise your hips until your back is perpendicular to the floor with your head and eyes looking up.
With your legs extended, you should slowly move them over your head until your toes touch the floor with your back remaining perpendicular to the floor.
This posture requires flexibility and you should always move into the position slowly. Regular practice aids in hypertension and effective for weight loss. Moreover, it is beneficial for diabetic people and cures the symptoms of menopause.
6. Formidable Face Pose (Gandha Bherundasana)
The formable face pose is one of the most difficult yoga postures and is only recommended for advanced yoga practitioners. To master this asana, you must have a flexible and balanced body with lots of strength. It is an intense stretch of the front body and as well as a full curve of the spine.
I can mention the steps –
1. Keep your hand and knee in tabletop position then take your left leg and lift it while lowering your chin to the floor.
2. Keep your hands flat on the floor lift your other leg also while keeping your chest on the floor.
3. Now comes the bending part as slowly bring your legs over the front with less amount of body weight distribute in the front portion.
This posture is an advanced asana and you have to be very careful for anything. It increases muscle strength and flexibility in the body and stops hair fall and brings new hairs in the head also.
7. The Corpse Pose (Shavasana)
One of the most difficult of all the yogasanas is Shavasana. It requires many approaches at one time. It appears the corpse pose looks very easy to practice, But don’t get deceived by the posture as its the most difficult yogasana posture to master.
After each of the yogasanas Shavasana should be practiced. The main idea is for the whole body should be in a neutral position entirely.
It improves focus on the mind and body. Once properly done for a minute or two the body rejuvenates.
8. One-Handed Tree Pose (Eka Hasta Vrksasanav)
This asana is for those who have practiced handstand for a long time. For those who have a great amount of strength and stability in their wrist and elbows. It is stimulating for even those who have great balance and strength.
As if balancing upside down on two hands isn’t tricky enough, some yogis do it on one! This pose is part of the 5th and 6th series in Ashtanga, and would only be suitable for anyone who can nail the regular handstand.
It brings super impressive core strength, mental focus, and strong wrists. It improves abdominal muscle strength also. Your whole body starts balancing with a single hand…amazing….
9. Destroyer of the Universe (Kala Bhairavasana)
Destroyer of the universe pose is mainly intended for Lord Shiva who is famous for Tandava nritya (Dance of time). To practice it, you must have flexibility in your hips, hamstring, and require intense mental focus to maintain the balance.
While placing one leg behind the head entails flexible hips, and when your body is off the floor, balancing on one side requires firmness, stability, mental attention, and stamina.
This asana helps you to build the abdominal and arm muscles.
10. Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)
This side plank pose emphasizes body alignment. Vasisthasana represents body balance on one side of the shoulders, hips, and feet. While practicing this asana, you must be conscious of your shift in the spine for any injury to the shoulders and wrists.
The side plank seems not that difficult but when you practice you get to know. This pose requires strength, flexibility, and balance.
Few steps are –
1. Place one hand and the side of one foot on the floor and the opposing arm and leg that should be next to the body until you have mastered your balance of this posture.
2. After you’ve mastered your balance, the opposing arm and leg can be stretched upwards. Your shoulders should be drawn back to help keep your chest in alignment as you move your arm and leg upwards.
This posture strengthens your glutes, abdominals, and obliques.
11. Head to Foot Pose (Sirsa Padasana)
Sirsa Padasana is pre posture of Gandha Bherundasana. It is a progressive back-bend joint with a headstand position. It moreover comprises inversion, back-bend, and balance to attain this position.
It requires powerful mental focus and massive stamina in abdominal muscle and flexibility in the spinal cord.
12. Wounded Peacock (Pungu Mayurasana)
It is essentially a one-handed peacock posture. It seems like Peacock with an advanced arm-balancing posture. It requires strength in the shoulders arms and wrists.
Your body floats above and parallel to the ground. It helps to improve digestion due to the pressure applied by the arms and abdomen. Punga Mayurasana should be practiced on both sides.
13. Handstand Scorpion(Taraksvasana)
It is one of the most difficult postures that require a lot of time to master. With intense stamina, massive strength, combined with flexibility and regular practice one can balance while strengthening abdominals, back muscles, and shoulders.
Taraka was a demon who was killed by Kartikeya, the god of war in Hindu mythology. Handstand Scorpion has two variations, both feet resting the top of the head or one leg raised straight up.
One of the variations of Taraksvasana handstand scorpion posture is Sayanasana. It is one of the asanas that is a practice in the fourth series of Ashtanga yoga.
It helps strengthen the abdominals, shoulders, and back muscles, improve balance, and going by the name, helps to increase internal power.
14. Fallen Angel Pose (Devaduuta Panna Asana)
Fallen angel pose is an unconventional level of difficult yoga posture.
It is a variation of the side crow pose but with one of the leg lifted up is sideways at the shoulder level. This posture requires the body is in a twisted form.
It helps you to power the body movement in a sophisticated way and keeps the body and hands flexible.
15. One Legged Forearm Wheel (Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana)
This is a pre posture of Sayanasana or scorpion pose. While you practice this posture your knee muscle and hand muscle get strengthen and abdominal muscle become flexible.
It is a multi-step pose that adds the task of having one leg stretched up into the air. It has various benefits as the entire front body gets stretched.
16. Split-Leg Handstand (Parivrttaikapada Sirsasana)
It is the topmost difficult yogasana with a twisting handstand posture. It requires core strength to maintain balance for holding the upper body and legs.
Handstand is considered the most difficult yoga asana, among others, and splitting legs makes the pose more interesting.
17. The Four-limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)
This posture is similar to bihangasana where you have to hold your body weight with your wrist muscle. For a beginner, 10 seconds is great in this posture.
This asana helps to keep the core aligned, maintains core stability, increases stamina, and strengthens the back muscles.
18. The Superman Pose (Viparita Salabhasana)
This posture represents the spinal cord and muscle around it. This might look like a breeze, but trying balancing on your stomach and you will know it’s a difficult yogasana with the strain in the back.
The superman pose will improve blood circulation, tones the abdomen and lower back, and is a great workout for the abs. It also works on the mind as it really conditions you into staying in the present.
Conclusion
One essential information I will share is focus, Slow but steady. All of these yogasanas are very difficult to master. So whenever you try them you must be super fit and flexible from your body. Understand the physical aspect of each yoga asana is not as easy as it seems. Headstand, wheel pose to handstand, scorpion pose and its variation are tough to perform.
These are some of the most difficult yoga postures that yogis have to arrange in their quest for being an advanced yoga master.
Reference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/
https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/idy/12-difficult-yoga-poses-for-idy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3447533/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3995122/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6746050/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097908/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3415184/
https://www.urbanpro.com/yoga/5-difficult-yoga-poses-for-men
This list is like a sin cos wave