Mysteries of Yoga Examined.

May 31, 9:14 AMPhiladelphia Yoga ExaminerJonathan Bartlett

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Halasana or Plow Pose

Why Do Muscles Sometimes Involuntarily Shake While Holding Poses?

Happened to me the other day moving into Plow pose, one of my mainstays which I often couple, as many others do, with Shoulder Stand and Bridge Pose, a powerful trio often mentioned in lists of 'de rigueur' asanas. I had slowly lowered my straightened legs down over the trunk of my body and my head. As I moved into the final phase, resting the tips of my feet on the floor above my head, my legs began to shake. While shaking had occurred in other poses, such as ‘side plank’ and others where there is a point-to-point interface with gravity, I never remembering it happening to me in this pose. The shaking was more violent than usual, so I decided to investigate.  

The yoga answer to this phenomenon will be different than a Western response. The yoga world assumes the existence of ‘prana’ or life energy. When you are breathing AND moving into and out of the poses, you are also moving this energy. In the yoga world, this is Prana. Other traditions call it Chi(China) or Ki(Japan), a life-force. Some call it cosmic or universal energy. We in the West might might call it bio-physical energy, the stuff that separates a corpse from a living thing. And an fyi…modern science still doesn’t know what that is, so it’s still the purview of the spiritual traditions only.

As with most things yoga, the responses to this phenomenon will be many and varied as yoga is vast and old as dirt, and yoga folks come from various traditions. Teachers I’ve had have suggested that the prana coursing through your body is experiencing a blockage, but this yogi says that it might be that your muscle is confused, or it could be a chakrah opening up (more on chakrahs later). And Richard Rosen seems to take a more anatomical approach, that it's just muscles that need strengthening.

Muscle shaking has happened to me on a number of occasions, but it’s been sporadic. If this is the case with you, the next time it happens, play with it. Pull back on the intensity as 'Yogadancer' in this message board advises. See if the tremor subsides. You might even try massaging the muscles around the area and then repeat the pose. As always, focus your attention in your body as you practice, away from your mind. Feel the tremors, the shakes, pay attention to them. It's what separates yoga from exercise and gives you some respite from the chaos your mind presents on a moment-by-moment basis.

Of course, if this is a recurring phenomenon or is accompanied by pain, see a medical professional.