I've been working on scorpion for literally years and I'm definitely seeing progress, but it's a long journey for sure. (See picture below)
Scorpion pose progress
The full expression isn't available to me (yet!), but I'm working at it and as I keep working on it, I've found one thing super, super helpful and I wanted to share it here in case anyone else was running down the scorpion beaten path.
The trick I've discovered with scorpion pose is this:
Many of us have more mobility in the lower back than in the upper back- that's a given. And how do you get a more full bend in the upper back?
Well, aside from working on back flexibility and chest openness, there's something else you can do once you're up in your forearm stand and are starting to come into scorpion.
Press into the forearms and intend to feel a slight round in between the shoulder blades. Essentially, you'll want to puff up the space between the shoulder blades. I know, I know, that sounds like flowery yoga talk, but let me show you exactly what I mean. You'll see in the video below from instagram that I do this at the very end - when the song says "your embrace." In order to find that round between the shoulder blades, you just need to press hard into the forearms and feel the sensation of a lift, rather than sinking the weight into the ground.
What's actually happening is that at first my weight is sort of resting in the shoulders. Then, when I engage and find a lift, I'm more stable and have more of a deeper backbend in the thoracic spine.
Related: 4 ways to improve your backbend
I hope that helps you! Let me know if you give this a try. What are you currently working on in your practice? Is there one pose that you've been working on for ages? Tell me which one!
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