How to Practice Lolasana (Pendant Pose) with Strength and Control

By Dav Jones, Senior Yoga Teacher and Teacher Trainer

Lolasana, or Pendant Pose, is an elegant yet demanding arm balance that reveals the hidden mechanics of human movement. While it looks like “just lifting yourself up,” it actually requires a coordinated recruitment of shoulder stabilizers, deep core muscles, hip flexors, and fascial tension lines.

From a kinesiological perspective, Lolasana is an advanced example of closed-chain upper body stabilization combined with open-chain hip flexion, demanding precise neuromuscular control. Practicing it builds not only strength but also motor coordination, joint integrity, and breath-driven stability.

Breaking down the Sanskrit:

• Lola – dangling, swaying, pendant-like
• Asana – posture

The final position resembles a pendant: the torso and legs tucked and “hanging” in suspension, supported by the arms.

Kinesiology Breakdown

• Shoulder Complex:
  • Scapular protraction (serratus anterior + pectoralis minor) prevents winging.
  • Scapular depression (lower trapezius + latissimus dorsi) avoids hunching into ears.
  • Glenohumeral extension stability (triceps long head + posterior deltoid) keeps elbows locked.
• Core System:
  • Transversus abdominis provides corset-like stabilization.
  • Rectus abdominis flexes spine and draws pubic bone toward sternum.
  • Obliques assist trunk flexion and prevent rotational collapse.
• Hip Flexors:
  • Iliopsoas and rectus femoris maintain knees-to-chest.
  • Tensor fasciae latae stabilizes hip while resisting external drift.
• Lower Limb:
  • Adductors keep thighs compact.
    

This isn’t raw strength—it’s intermuscular coordination between anterior and posterior chains.

Physical Benefits (with Kinesiology Insights)

1. Core Integration

• Works the deep stabilizers (TVA, multifidus, diaphragm, pelvic floor) as a functional unit.
• Promotes intra-abdominal pressure regulation – essential for spinal health.

2. Upper Limb and Shoulder Resilience

• Closed-chain scapular work builds strength in serratus anterior and rotator cuff, preventing shoulder impingement.
• Wrist extensor/flexor co-contraction improves load tolerance.

3. Hip Flexor and Adductor Strength

• Unlike passive stretching, this pose actively shortens hip flexors against gravity, balancing length – tension relationship.
• Adductors prevent splaying, protecting sacroiliac alignment.

4. Fascial Line Engagement

• The superficial front line (SFL) contracts (pectoralis major – rectus abdominis – hip flexors – tibialis anterior).
• Counterbalanced by tension in the deep back line, maintaining suspension equilibrium.

5. Neuromotor Control

• Proprioceptors in wrists and shoulders refine joint awareness.
• Teaches rate coding (muscle firing frequency) for smooth, sustained lifts.

Mental & Energetic Benefits

• Focus Training: Requires prefrontal cortex engagement for motor planning.
• Resilience: Builds frustration tolerance through incremental progress.
• Energetics: Strong Manipura Chakra activation (solar plexus), enhancing self-agency and determination.

1. Set the Foundation

• Start in kneeling, palms pressed down beside thighs.
• Spread fingers to a position you can maintain a strong grip strength, rooting through metacarpophalangeal joints – first knuckle and the pisiform region of the hand. This helps to to distribute internal/external rotational forces through the hand and the kinetic line of the arm.

Kinesiological note: this prevents overloading carpal tunnel structures.

2. Engage the Core

• Press inner heels together, knees toward chest.
• Exhale (fully)  – flex spine and straighten as much as you can through your arms. Notice the contraction in your abdominals as you push the floor away through your arms.
• Lumbar spine flexes, recruiting rectus abdominis while obliques prevent rotation.

3. Shoulder Mechanics

• Press palms down, straighten elbows.
• Scapular protracts (push apart) and depress (pull down).
• Serratus anterior and lats fire to maintain scapulothoracic stability.

4. Lift Off

• Exhale → push the floor away.
• Knees tuck closer as iliopsoas contracts concentrically.
• Spine flexes, but cervical spine stays neutral.

5. Maintain Suspension

• Hold for 3–5 breaths.
• Focus on eccentric abdominal control to avoid “dropping” into lumbar collapse.

6. Controlled Exit

• Lower hips slowly, maintaining scapular protraction until fully grounded.

• Tolasana (Scale Pose) – Performed in Padmasana, increases hip external rotation + demands deeper core recruitment.
  
• Dynamic Lolasana – Lift–lower cycles → trains concentric/eccentric strength.
  
• Block-Assist Lolasana – Blocks under hands → mechanical leverage improves clearance.
• Extended-Leg L-Sits – One leg straightens forward → higher load on iliopsoas + TVA.

Key Principles of Practicing Lolasana

1. Core Initiation → lift originates in transversus abdominis, not just triceps push. 
2. Scapular Control → protraction + depression prevents humeral head migration (avoiding impingement). 
3. Breath Coupling → exhalation naturally recruits core (via diaphragm–TVA synergy). 
4. Motor Learning → consistent micro-practice rewires neural pathways for sustained suspension.

When to Use Lolasana

• Pre-Arm Balance Prep (Bakasana, Handstand).
  
• Core Conditioning as part of strength sequence.
  
• Transition Training in Ashtanga jump-throughs.
  
• Morning Energizer for nervous system activation.

• Wrist/Carpal Tunnel Syndromes – Avoid or use props.
  
• Shoulder Impingement – Skip if pain persists despite scapular corrections.
  
• Pregnancy – Contraindicated due to abdominal compression.
  
• Lumbar Disc Issues – Avoid deep spinal flexion. 

From a kinesiologist’s perspective, Lolasana is not about raw arm strength but about orchestrating multiple systems: scapular mechanics, intra-abdominal pressure, hip flexion strategy, and fascial tension.

Each lift is a conversation between stability and mobility, breath and muscle, strength and surrender. Over time, it refines how your nervous system recruits and coordinates muscle groups in synergy, transforming this asana into a practice of neuromuscular education rather than mere exertion.

Lolasana reminds us that yoga is far more than an arm-balance – it is the science of movement efficiency and the art of rising with lightness and control.

Ready to build strength, stability, and grace in your arm balances?
Join me in my online yoga classes on Patreon or explore deeper practice through the DJY Mentorship Program, where we go beyond the shapes into the biomechanics and artistry of yoga.