Pose of the Month - Head Stand

It is important to be somewhat proficient in some basic yoga poses before attempting to learn Head Stand. These poses should include:

• Triangle
• Side Angle
• Warrior I, II & III
• Down Dog
• Wide Leg Forward Bend
• Pyramid
• Half Moon
• Tree
• Boat
• Cow Face
• Bridge
• Shoulder Stand

In addition, there is a fair amount of core strength. Can you hold Boat Pose, Plank, Side Plank and Reverse Plank for 30 seconds to a minute in each one? Being able to do these poses is no guarantee that you can do Head Stand, but they will help you find and keep your core engaged while you are upside down. It is important to hold the body firmly and to be able to maintain vertical extension even while standing on your head.

Preparation

Before you think about doing Head Stand, you should prepare your body for an inversion by doing poses that get your head lower than your heart. This is to make sure that there is not a sudden and dramatic change in your blood pressure. Here is a simple sequence to do this: Child’s Pose, Down Dog, Standing Forward Bend and then Head Stand, unless you need some shoulder stretches in addition. Cow Face Pose is a great pose to open the shoulders in preparation for Head Stand, even if you only do the arms.

Space

Make sure you have a wall that you can kick up against. And if you are newer and feeling a little precarious, a corner in a room is a very secure way for new students to experience this pose.

Mat

It’s nice to have a cushion for your head when you do headstand. I usually take a thin mat and fold it in half and then in half again. This is about the right size for your arms and head in this pose. If your mat is too thick, you can use it flat or maybe just in half. You want padding, but you do not want your surface to be too squishy as this makes it harder to balance. Also, if you have long sleeves, roll them up.  You want to make sure that your elbows don't slide out while you are in the pose; skin to sticky mat is best.

The foundation in any yoga pose is that part that touches the floor.

The Head

Knowing what part of the head is on the floor is important for the integrity of our neck in particular and your spine in general. The spot is right at the top of the crown of your head. It’s right where you would try to balance a book. A way to find it is to place the heel of your hand at the bridge of your nose, keep it there and stretch your fingers up and over the top of your head. Right where the tip of your middle finger touches your head, that’s the spot.

Arms

From a kneeling position, place your forearms on the floor so that your elbows are directly under your shoulders. There are ways to measure this, but it is important to learn to look, see and feel it for yourself. Stretch the forearms forward and clasp the hands, interlacing the fingers. Remember to keep your elbows under your shoulders and don’t let them wing out. This will cause you to put too much strain on your neck. Sometimes it may be necessary to belt the elbow if they keep winging out. Make sure that you alternate which way the fingers are interlaced each time you do Head Stand.

The part of your forearms that should be on the floor are the long bones that go from your elbows to the pinky finger sides of the wrist. The wrist bones should be stacked vertically. Look to see that the bump on your wrist at the thumb side of your hand is directly above the bump that is on the pinky finger side of the hand. Most students squeeze their hands so tightly together that the fingers turn white. Try to keep your hands relaxed. Instead of gripping the fingers, try to press down evenly along the entire length of your forearms from the elbow tip to the wrist. This will help you balance and take pressure off of your neck by putting it into your arms.

Stages

The first stage is called Dolphin. This is “Head Stand” with your forearms and head on the ground as if you were going into the full pose; your hips are in the air but your feet stay on the ground. Keep walking your feet in close to your head as you press your forearms into the ground. As you walk your feet in keep lifting your hips higher and higher. This can be done in the middle of the room.

The second stage can be done against a wall. Be close enough to the wall that your knuckles are touching the wall. If you are feeling particularly insecure about this, find a corner to practice in. Do everything from the previous stage, but keep walking your feet in toward your face. Keep the hips lifting until you feel your feet start to get lighter and lighter. Try to push with your feet until you can bend your knees and draw them into your chest and allow your feet to come off of the floor. Imagine you are trying to balance on your head in “Child’s Pose”. This requires core strength to hold you up.

After learning to balance in the previous version, you can start taking one leg up at a time. Once you get used to being upside down, be aware of what you are doing with your legs. Practice all of the same actions you do in Tadasana: Hug your legs toward the midline; roll the thighs in, back and apart; Sit bones reaching towards the heels, pubic bone lifting towards the head; inner ankles together, heels slightly apart; knees lifted, feet “flointed” (feet pointed, toes flexed back).

Once you become comfortable in Head Stand at the wall, then you can begin to move away from the wall. The first stage is one knee length away from the wall. This way you are far enough away from the wall to try to balance, but close enough so that you can bend a knee and touch the wall safely with your foot.

If you can balance a knee length away from the wall, the next step is in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, it starts to get unsafe to simply keep inching away from the wall. If you are farther than your knee length and you start to go over backwards, you can crash your knees into the wall and hurt yourself. Not fun!

The first couple of times you practice in the middle of the room, if you don’t have a spotter, just try coming up into the Child’s Pose variation. Again, this is a great core strengthening position! Once you feel confident you can try reaching one leg up at a time.

Everybody falls out of Head Stand occasionally. It is helpful to have a contingency plan if this happens. It can be scary but it’s often not as bad as you feared. If your feet fall towards your face, this is not falling out. It’s when your feet go over backwards. If you have the presence of mind, tuck your chin, release your interlaced fingers and just try to roll out of it. (Again, if you are too close to a wall, this could be painful.) Tucking your chin will keep you from falling flat on your back. Often it is the sensation of your interlaced fingers getting squeezed hard that is the most painful thing about falling out of Head Stand. Some people try to minimize the damage of falling out of Head Stand by practicing on a carpet. But, just like having a too thick mat, the squishier the foundation is, the harder it is to balance.

Remember to rest in Child’s Pose for a period of time proportional to the amount of time you spent in Head Stand before coming up. Head Stand should usually be counter posed by Shoulder Stand although it doesn’t have to immediately follow Head Stand, it just needs to be done before that practice session is over.

Pose of the Month for August - Transition from Prasarita Padottanasana to Sirsasana II

Sirsasana II with wide legs

This month our focus will be on two poses;  Wide Legged Forward Fold (Prasarita Padottanasana) and Tripod Head Stand (Sirsasana II).  We will work on each one separately and on the transition from one to the other.

In Wide Legged Forward Fold we will be working on the flexibility of the hamstrings and inner thighs as we work on elongating the torso and getting the head to the floor.  This pose prepares you for Head Stand by getting the head lower than the heart and getting you accustomed to having the head on the floor.  If you don’t do Head Stand this is a good alternative or a preparatory pose.

We will also work on Sirsasana II.  This is Tripod Head Stand where the head and hands are on the floor and those three points form the points of an equilateral triangle.  Sirsasana II takes more arm and shoulder strength while Sirsasana I takes more shoulder flexibility. Some people prefer one version of Head Stand over another, however, they each have their purposes and functions and it is nice to be well versed in both.  Mastering Sirsasana II is important for performing many of the arm balancing postures such as Crow, Galavasana and the Koundinyasana variations.

The alignment of the head, neck and shoulders are important in Head Stand.  No matter which Head Stand you are in the part of the head that should be on the floor is the very top of the head.  To find this spot, place the heel of your hand on the bridge of your nose and then stretch your fingers up over the top of your head.

The spot where your middle finger touches is the spot that should rest on the floor in Head Stand.

The head and torso should be in a straight line when you are coming into Head Stand so there is no strain on the neck.

Dolphin

The transition from Wide Legged Forward Fold to Head Stand requires a lot of core strength and stability so expect to see some abdominal work and some plank work.  If you are not a person who likes working on your core because it just seems hard, let me encourage you to stick with it.  There is a big payoff here when you can finally float your feet off the floor and move into Head Stand. It can be an exhilarating and empowering experience.

While we are always looking for the balance of effort and ease in every pose, in the beginning these transitions feel hard and students are tempted to grit their teeth and hold their breath.   If you ever find yourself gritting your teeth in a pose it might mean that you are trying too hard and trying to force yourself into the pose.  That is a signal to back off, breathe and try again.  Wait for the pose to come to you.  Holding the breath while in Head Stand is contraindicated because it can build up too much pressure in the head and the eyes in particular.

We will work on the transition to Head Stand in Stages:  First, we will practice Dolphin, then bent knees:

And finally moving up into full Sirsasana II.  We will also work on coming down from Head Stand.  Coming down is easier than going up and it is how you learn control.

As always, remember to breathe and honor where you are, have fun and be playful as you experiment with your edges.  Develop a curious sense of exploration and see where it takes you.

I look forward to seeing you in class!

Karin