How To Do Shirshasana, Headstand Posture

If the whole body of yours is supported on your forearms; if your head is touching the floor; and your feet are facing straight to the sky; you must be in the state of ‘Sirsasana’, or ‘Headstand Yoga Posture’.

As this posture makes us to stand on the strength of our head, it is named Headstand Posture. Sanskrit word for it is Shirshasna, but it is pronounced as ‘Sirsasana’ or ‘Sirshasana’, too.

Mountain yoga 5, headstand, originally uploaded by Holistic Directory.

While being on mere support of the head, we can take the assisting support of our palms or ankles as shown in these two illustrated postures.As this postures makes us to stand on the strength of our head it is named as Sirshasana, the Head Stand Posture. While being on mere support of the head, we can take the assisting support of our palms or ankles as shown in these two illustrated postures.

How to Do Shirshasana

Here is step-by-step guidance for doing this pose. It is one of the most difficult postures. But it can be done in two stages.

Stage One

• Come to kneeling position and put your forearms fully touching the floor. The fingers are to keep interlaced.

• Put your head on the area cupped by your fingers and the forearms.

• Then raise your waist as straight as possible. You can do it by taking your feet closer to head. It will send your hips over your shoulder. In this position your body would make the shape of a triangle on floor. This posture is an independent yoga posture. It is called Raja Grivasana. You can stay in this pose as long as you like.

Stage Two

• After you feel comfort in Raja Gricasana, the last pose as shown above, you would try lifting your feet and dragging knees near to your chest.

• Let the feet be settled for a while.

• The slowly and steadily try raising legs up. You should not worry if you fail to do it for one or two days.

• After the legs are straight and upward, the ‘Headstand Posture’ is completed. You are to remain in this pose for ten seconds.

• When you decide to end the pose, first put your one of the legs on the floor and then another.

Benefits of Doing Sirsasana

Like all other postures, it increases the flow of blood to our head and brain. This in turn would result in improvement of intellectual functions. It would help in increasing our memory.

It would help us to get relief from back pain or pain in leg and thigh muscles.

A person suffering from Sciatica would also be benefited. But in that case, this posture must be done in presence of a trained teacher. (Image courtesy By Joseph RENGER [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], from Wikimedia Commons)