The word SHALABA means “locust”. So SHALABASANA can be translated as the Locust Position.
The position has got a variant, easier than the proper asana: ARDHA SHALABASANA.
ARDHA SHALABASANA:
This position is very simple and accessible to everybody. The ones who cannot execute the Locust’s position for now will approach it.
It is necessary to review some of the physiological notions about sympathetic nervous system in order to understand better how this asana acts for improving the human being’s health.
It is known the fact that the entire vegetative activity, although unconscious and involuntary is under the control of the autonomous nervous system. It is divided into two separate and antagonistically systems: ortho-sympathetic and parasympathetic.
The parasympathetic system is also divided into two: the pneumogastric or the vague nerve and the pelvic part of the parasympathetic.
The equilibrium between the two is the condition for a good function of the physical body. These two systems are now a whole and it is necessary that they should be stimulated and fortified in order to function harmoniously.
