#1 Sirsasana - Headstand

#1 Sirsasana - Headstand

Sirsasana means head pose but is often called the king pose because of the remarkable benefits it brings to memory and concentration. It’s the most important one amongst the inverted postures. In a lot of classes you’ll find that this pose is practiced at the end of the class, but in hatha yoga this is the first posture after warm up and strengthening exercises. It is after all a very important one! It should be practiced after learning the techniques in a careful and controlled way, never jump into headstand.

It doesn’t require a lot of flexibility or strength to do this pose (believe me), so the beauty is that almost anyone can do it. The biggest challenge is usually getting over the fear of having your body above your head.

During this headstand, more than half of the body weight is placed on the arms, so you won’t have to worry about the small vertebra of the cervical region can support the weight of your body. The rest of the weight can be taken by the head as long as you are proper aligned.

For maximum effect, the posture should be held for 5-10 minutes every day.

If you haven’t tried sirsasana before, don’t expect to get it at first attempt. For a lot of people the biggest challenge isn’t finding the strength in their arms and shoulders, but the fear of balancing upside down. Sirsasana is therefore a challenging pose both for the balance in your body as well as your mind.

My yoga teacher said that by doing sirsasana, sarvangasana and pascimottanasana every day you would never need a chiropractor and it was perfect for optimal health. You can find all of these postures here (#1, #2, #5).

There are many variations of sirsasana. The most important thing is to start of steady, by jumping into it you will never find and remember your perfect balance point.

If you do not know how to get into headstand but want to learn, I’d highly advise that you do it with a qualified instructor so they can show you the right technique making you avoid getting injured. There are several stages on how to get into headstand, so whatever you do, don’t jump into it (like you sort of can with handstand).

Benefits of sirsasana:

• It improves your stamina by strengthening and elongating your heart muscles
• Increases general vitality of the blood, enhancing all body functions in head, improving disorders of nerves, eyes, ears, nose and throat.
• People practicing this posture regularly tend to have slow rates of respiration and heart beat.
• The extra blood flow to head is good for the eyes and other organs
• It can relieve headaches
• Improves memory
• Improves concentration
• Brain, spinal cord and sympathetic nervous system are supplied with an increased flow of blood rich in nutrients.
• Can help with management of asthma
• Exercises many internal muscles that usually don’t get stretched
• The pressure some internal organs get from gravity is relieved, which can help relieve piles and hydrocele.
• Provides relief for those suffering from varicose veins
• Relieves pain in lower back
• This posture combats dropped stomach

Cautions
If you suffer from high blood pressure, vertigo, blood impurities, thrombosis or other heart conditions don’t do this posture before checking with your doctor. Also check with your doctor if you are pregnant.
Also avoid if you suffer from slipped disk, spondylitis or other conditions of your neck.

Currently I’m working on some videos and instructions that will be launched on my website later. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask, I am happy to help!

Love,
Tone