Headstand Variations

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hey everyone, I thought this site would be a good place to ask these questions.

I’m very comfortable in my headstands and have been working on many variations.

Most recently, I’ve been working towards a headstand with only one hand for support (eka hasta sirsasana). Normally I can only stick around in the pose for a couple of breaths before being forced to lower down back to the mat, or to the side with the hand down on the floor.

I was hoping someone could give me a quick tutorial on the pose and bring some light to it. Also, my other questions for anyone working with this pose currently or an experienced teacher are:

-How should the weight of the body be shifted?
-How should the supporting hand be positioned and where should the weight be focused on that hand?
-Is there a progression of poses or steps towards this pose that could strengthen it?

I cant post a picture yet for reference as I dont have 15 posts but there is a photo available of it on Dharma Mittra’s site in the Asana section.

Thanks in advance everyone.

#2

namaste,
you may want to look at resent post http://www.yogaforums.com/forums/f16/handstands-6637.html

#3

Thanks for that link - there’s some great information for handstands!

Still looking for some one handed headstand info however :slight_smile:

#4

The way I learned to do it was by using a yoga block under only one hand when going up into hand stand.

#5

One-handed headstand, hmmm? Not a safe pose, unless you know what you are doing as you can put a lot of pressure on the cervical spine. Why the interest, there are so many other difficult inversions to master.

#6

What can I say, I love headstands lol, and I want to try something new. I’m pretty good at inversions, so I’m always looking for something new to try. I’m not worried about the pressure on the spine…I’m able to hold headstands on just my index fingertips for a few minutes at a time without any discomfort at all. I guess I have a strong base of support from years of powerlifting before taking up yoga.

#7

You have to be very careful with headstands. The vertebrae in the neck are not designed to support the full weight of your body. The muscles around the neck and upper back are not strong enough.

The only way to do a headstand safely is by forming a tripod with your arms. That way the weight of the body is supported partially by your arms and shoulders.

I have a 2 great tutorials on how to do headstand on our site… one is for beginners, against the wall. The other is free standing. They both discuss how to balance the body, maintain alignment and take the weight off the neck.

http://www.doyogawithme.com/content/headstand-pose-against-wall

http://www.doyogawithme.com/content/headstand-pose-sirsasana

I also have a couple Yoga Anatomy videos on Headstand. This one is called Headstand and Breathing:

http://www.doyogawithme.com/content/headstand-and-breathing