The Headstand, or the King of Asanas

The title speaks for itself :) but why is it called the "King of Asanas"?

It's name is in Sanskrit: Sirsasana, the sirsa means "head", so there is nothing ambiguous about his name, we have to stand on our heads.

Dr Antal Weninger said: "You may not be able to put your feet in a lotus after a certain age, but you can learn to stand on your head at any time." and I believe in this.

But returning to the "King" meaning: anyone who has tried it or practices it knows that it is truly the most powerful pose and has a great effect on both the body and the mind. In the Sivananda yoga class, it is the first asana out of 12 that we practice.

Learning it requires a lot of patience and persistence.

Since it is considered a rather difficult asana, it requires increased preparation: it is necessary to strengthen the arms, shoulders and abdominal muscles to perform it. That's why we practice leg lifts beforehand, which help us hold our body weight without effort, and the Dolphin pose, which strengthens the muscles of the arms and shoulders, and practices the feeling of body weight on the elbows.

The Dolphin Pose

In the Dolphin Pose, we swing forward by inhaling (top picture), backward by exhaling (bottom picture), the body weight is on the elbows and toes.

The headstand is an inverted body position, so the body must be prepared for this powerful exercise, with the Baby Pose, or Balasana. With this we support the inversion of the body by reversing the flow and increasing the pressure on the head.

Baby Pose or Balasana

From a kneeling position, we bend forward, lean on our forehead, and rest our arms loosely on either side of our body, palms up. We breathe calmly and slowly while observing our body, if we feel that our head is slowly filling with blood due to the abdominal pressure, we can move on.

It is important to have a stable support when standing head-on:

Distribution of body weight in headstand with forearm support

... and step by step:

1. In Baby Pose, we raise our head, intertwine our arms and measure our arm's distance in front of us (we hold both of our elbows with our hands).

2. After that, we open our arms and, imagining a triangle in front of us, place our hands together at the top of the triangle. 3. We place our head firmly in our clasped hands, resting the top of our head on the ground. 4. Then we stretch out our legs and raise our buttocks, while making sure that our arms do not move.

Slowly step towards your head until you feel that your spine straightens and your body weight begins to shift to your arms. When you feel your armrest is stable, bend your legs and pull your legs up using your abdominal muscles, then slowly lower your back, make sure you are stable, and finally stretch your legs towards the sky and hold the asana as long as it feels good. Always try to increase the endurance time.

Lowering the asana should be done in the same reverse order as when taking up the asana. Let's relax in Baby Pose. Since we exposed the upper part of our spine to strong pressure, which put a strain on the smaller vertebrae there, let's stretch this part in the Rabbit Pose.

From a kneeling position, roll forward on your head while holding on to your legs, and stay like this for a few breaths. If the headstand is very demanding and you still want to practice it, I can recommend 3 variations in a simplified form: 1. The Semi-candle Position, or Viparita Karani Mudra:

Its beneficial effect on our body is the same as that of headstand, yet it is a much easier exercise. It differs from the candle position in that we do not have to press our chin tightly to our chest, we do not straighten our body completely, but close the angle shown in the drawing with our legs. With our hands, we do not strive towards the shoulder blades with our support, but hold our buttocks, sitting comfortably in our palms. Continue the exercise until it feels good, then rest in Savasana.

2. Standing up from a squat:

Starting pose squatting, imagine a triangle in front of you, rest your head on the upper apex and your palms on the two lower apexes, lift your hips, spread your legs and step towards your elbows, then kneel on your elbows, the lift your feet off the ground as shown in the picture. Let's stay like this until it rains well, then rest in Baby Pose. 3. Half head stance:

Let's start the headstand as above, but only get to the point where we lift our hips high and hold it until it feels good. Then rest in Baby Pose.

Note: The headstand is a very powerful exercise, many people are afraid of falling backwards or possibly leaning to the side. In order to increase our sense of security, we can practice in front of a wall at first, and then move away from the wall over time, once we feel that our head position is stable. In any case, you can also fall badly while leaning against a wall, so the best thing is to safely learn a step-by-step yoga practice, and to descend safely if your center of gravity is out of balance. Never stand up suddenly after a headstand, and if you have any health problems, ask the opinion of our specialist before doing the exercise, or feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the asana: at anitja75@gmail.com

Beneficial effects of headstand:

- due to the straight and inverted body position, it greatly relaxes the heart and the circulatory system - the brain, spinal cord and sympathetic nervous system receive an increased blood supply rich in nutrients - due to the supply of rich nutrients to the brain, all functions of the body are strengthened and enhanced - the condition of the nerves, ears, nose, eyes and throat improves, the senses become more developed - reduces varicose veins and prevents their formation - the lumbar and sacral areas are freed - an excellent method against kidney spasm and stubborn constipation - upper limbs warm up - it is possible to overcome the sinking of the stomach and asthma of nervous origin (do not exercise in case of an attack!) - with regular exercise, migraine headaches can be avoided (do not exercise if you have a headache!) - the ability to concentrate, balance and remember improves

Om Namah Sivaya ✿

The new Yoga Mat

I've written about my Yoga mat here.

Since then, the circumstances have changed and it has been time to replace my 17-year-old mat.

However, when buying a new yoga mat, it was also an aspect to be made of more natural material, and I was very pleased when other to see the problem too:

- the polifoam carpets are made of plastic, filled with air by blowing, do not decompose, and are also harmful to the planet and its inhabitants, both in their production and in their use and disposal.

Again, they were looking for yoga mat testing where this very thorough Article was written that takes environmental aspects into account in detail.

I find it very good to make my own carpet made of natural and residual materials, but since I keep yoga outdoors, my favorite is the cork carpet, which has natural rubber on the back. I chose a thicker type (8mm) because I could keep my headstand longer if the surface wasn't that hard. There is a disadvantage: a bit difficult, but I'd rather say it is not as light as polifoam mattresses.

... and, behold, my cork-natural rubber yoga mat:

Finally, I would like to point out that the goal is not to get everyone out of the plastic mat quickly, because it does not good for our planet in the same way, but if someone is looking for a yoga mat, it is worth taking these aspects and I heartily recommend  the cork-natural rubber carpet to do yoga.

Sivananda's Pranayama

The simply perfect breathing exercise: 

"Technique: Sit comfortably on a chair, sofa or easy-chair. Draw the air through both nostrils, as long as comfortable. Retain as long as comfortable. Repeat your Ishta Mantra or 'OM' while retaining the breath. Then exhale as long as comfortable. You need not observe any ratio between the inhalation, exhalation and retention; but let the inhalation and exhalation be deep and full.

Benefit: The benefits of this Pranayama are incalculable. All the muscles are relaxed. All the nerves are toned. Rhythm and harmony are established in the entire being. Mind is calmed. Circulation is promoted. An inexpressible peace and bliss come to reign within you.

You can do it in the morning while lying in bed. Your mind will become alert for commencing Japa and Dhyana. You can do it when the mind is about to lose balance on account of the setting in of lust, anger or other evil Vrittis; the mind will be filled with a great power that will prevent the evil Vrittis from disturbing it. You can do it just before commencing your study; the mind will be concentrated easily and what you study will be indelibly impressed in your mind. You can do it during your office-work; you will get new strength every time and you will never be tired. When you return home from the office you can practise this Pranayama and you will be recharged with fresh energy.

The greatest advantage is that once you start doing it you will do it very often; and your mind can never find an excuse for not practising this Ati-Sukha-Purvaka Pranayama, very easy and comfortable Pranayama which has all the advantages of Pranayama, without its 'rules and regulations'. Do it from now without fail."

Source: The Divine Life Society/ Sivanandaonline.org

The Yoga Mat

I got a recommendation from a thorough Yoga Mat testing, HERE can find it. Thank you, it is very well work and I recommend reading it too, because it is really important question in the daily Yoga practice.

The article inspired me to describe my Yoga Mat experience:

It is very old and very special mat, because I can fold it:

This is for me important, because some asana need a bit thicker mat, for example the Headstand.

I bought my Yoga Mat an polifoam factory in Hungary for 3-4dollar (converted from Hungarian Forint) about 15 years before. I use it and I'll take it myself everywhere ever since: in Malta or in Azores.

The biggest damage my kids did in it :) my yoga practices not. Many time I take it to the washing machine and never was problem.

So this was my Yoga Mat story.

Om Namah Sivaya ✿