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Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand) is an energizing inversion that relies on the power of your larger physique and core, whereas centering and focusing your ideas.
Though there are many bodily benefits, along with establishing leg, arm, and core power, it’s a troublesome pose that it’s a must to technique with a “safety first” mentality. The essential factor to this asana is to avoid placing weight in your head and neck. In its place, let your arms and shoulders keep you up.
Supported Headstand fundamentals
Sanskrit: Salamba Sirsasana (sah-LOM-bah shear-SHAHS-ah-nah)
Pose form: Inversion
Targets: Core
Why we prefer it: The funnest technique to comply with Headstand? Attempt it in a doorway. Strolling the toes up the doorjamb and into the pose makes it potential to do with assist and with out relying on momentum to kick myself up into it,” says Tamara Jeffries, Yoga Journal‘s senior editor.
Pose benefits
Supported Headstand improves physique consciousness, circulation, and posture. It can presumably help reduce swelling in your ankles and toes, enhance energy, wrestle fatigue, and assemble confidence.
Supported Headstand: Step-by-step instructions
- Start in your fingers and knees in fingers and knees. Lean forward and place your forearms on the bottom in entrance of you. Ship your fingers collectively and interlace your fingers, tucking your bottom pinky finger inside so the outer edges of your fingers are safe on the mat. Ship your elbows barely slim than shoulder-distance apart.
- Place the crown of your head on the bottom with the once more of your head in direction of your palms. Press down alongside together with your forearms and elbows and allow your head to come back again barely off the bottom.
- Tuck your toes, elevate your knees, and straighten your legs in Dolphin Pose. Proceed to press firmly by means of your arms, retaining weight off your head. Draw your shoulder blades away out of your ears. Then stroll your toes in direction of your head until your hips are above your shoulders.
- Bend your knees and use your core to slowly elevate one or every your legs off the bottom, retaining your knees bent and legs collectively and tucked into your chest. Engage your core and proceed to press down by means of your arms and draw your shoulders away out of your ears. Slowly straighten your legs, one after the other or collectively, until they’re instantly above your shoulders, reaching your legs in direction of the ceiling.
- Uncover your steadiness proper right here, which can take comply with. Shifting your weight as need be to keep up your ankles stacked over your head.
- Hug your thighs collectively as you straighten your legs. Carry and lengthen by means of all sides of your torso.
- Sustain as long as you are feeling cosy and strong. If at any stage you are feeling elevated stress in your head and neck, immediately come out of the pose. Use your stomach power to slowly lower your legs whereas persevering with to press down by means of your forearms. Take your time as you slowly carry your toes once more to the mat in Dolphin Pose. Make your technique into Child’s Pose.
Beginner’s recommendations
Apply this troublesome inversion solely beneath the cautious supervision of a coach who’s acquainted with your comply with. Not sure should you occur to’re ready? Proper right here’s recommendations on the right way to know.
- Rely on some assist. Apply in direction of a wall or in a doorway (see above). Take one foot, then the other away from the wall as you uncover further power and steadiness inside the pose.
- It can presumably help to remind your self that this pose is very similar to completely different poses nonetheless with a harder relationship to gravity. Engage your core, legs, and arms the equivalent technique you’d in Tadasana or Forearm Plank.
- Yoga coach Alexandria Crow explains that as you’re practising the pose, “Your pelvis might shift earlier your shoulders to create a counterweight in your legs on this transition pose. Maintain your core engaged and ensure the burden in your head doesn’t intensify. If it does improve—at any stage—return to having just one leg up, or to Forearm Plank.”
- Start small. Try to observe for 10 seconds, then progressively add 5 to 10 seconds at a time. It’s larger to hold a steady 20-second pose than a three-minute pose that lacks integrity.
- Exit with grace. Use your abs to lower the legs in a clear motion. Come down with an exhalation, with out shedding the elevate of the shoulder blades.
Instructing Salamba Sirsasana
These cues will assist your faculty college students uncover steadiness and guarded alignment.
- Press the lengths of your inner and outer forearms into the mat, whereas attempting to raise off the mat. The combo of enlargement and contraction will assist you retain integrity inside the pose.
- Start with an honest analysis of your bodily, psychological, and emotional state. Stay away from the pose if you end up confused, your sleep is compromised, you could be fatigued, or completely different parts are affecting your well-being.
Variation: Supported Headstand prep

Apply Dolphin Pose in preparation for or instead of Headstand. Come into the posture alongside together with your elbows and forearms on the mat. Apply strolling your toes in direction of your fingers and bringing your once more perpendicular to the bottom.
Variation: Supported Headstand with knees tucked

Apply discovering your steadiness and equilibrium alongside together with your knees bent and your legs tucked as close to the torso as potential. Maintain a neutral spine.
Preparatory Poses
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Coping with Canine Pose)
Forearm Plank
Dolphin Pose
Counter Poses
Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
Balasana (Child’s Pose)
Contributors embrace Alexandria Crow.