Yoga

[rox_yr_sox]

^^ eu-pt, how long do you typically stay in headstand? I have no problems with other advanced poses, but I can't stand that much headstand. After a few minutes, I get a very heavy feeling in my head and neck and the whole thing feels very unnatural and uncomfortable. Any advice?

 

[eu-pt]

^Hi rox_yr_sox, I never counted the time but I'm guessing a good 3 or 4 minutes. But I would stay longer if I didn't had to follow the class.

As far as advice what I have noticed is that, in my experience, the stronger my abdominal and dorsal muscles are, the easier it gets to do this asana.

Have you ever tried to do this asana on your hands instead of on your head? It will make your arms hurt but at least it doesn't make that pressure on your head and neck plus the weight of your head will pull your spine and decompress it!!

Hope this was of some help to you.

 

[rox_yr_sox]

^Hmm, I may be a special case, because I do have very strong muscles abdominal and dorsal muscles (from yoga and also other sports), and headstand still feels wrong. I normally do about 4 minutes before having to come down (and the last 1 or so minutes are very unpleasant), but many in my class happily stay up for 8 to 10 minutes.

Do you mean this pose when you say try doing it one your hands?
View attachment 585061

My class always does this before doing headstand and I can do that one OK.

I seriously don't know how I'll ever feel comfortable in headstand. My teacher is like 'just relax and breath', and I'm thinking, "hello, almost all my body weight is going through my head, how can I chill out in this pose?!".

insidesocal.com

 

[dauphine]

How are you with other inversions? Halasana, Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand), etc?

 

[rox_yr_sox]

^ No problems at all. But in those, the weight isn't really coming down straight through the neck to the crown of the head.
My headstand is really letting me down; I'm aiming for all round yogic excellence!

 

[dauphine]

I am aiming for all around yogic excellence as well, but Wheel is still my downfall. I utterly lack upper body strength though.

 

[eu-pt]

^Hmm, I may be a special case, because I do have very strong muscles abdominal and dorsal muscles (from yoga and also other sports), and headstand still feels wrong. I normally do about 4 minutes before having to come down (and the last 1 or so minutes are very unpleasant), but many in my class happily stay up for 8 to 10 minutes.

Do you mean this pose when you say try doing it one your hands?


My class always does this before doing headstand and I can do that one OK.

I seriously don't know how I'll ever feel comfortable in headstand. My teacher is like 'just relax and breath', and I'm thinking, "hello, almost all my body weight is going through my head, how can I chill out in this pose?!".

rox_yr_sox, sorry to be so late with my answer.

The asana I meant was this one in the pict:

©iyogalife

In all honesty I must say that the headstand doesn't feel uncomfortable at all to me, but to achieve this I have to find the right spot on my head where it feels comfortable to stay for a while in this headstand asana.

Otherwise, IMHO, I think you'll only be able to relax and breath the day you think and believe that your head and neck bones are strong enough to support your body weight and they are not going to crush or anything bad like that is going to happen!!! Hope this will eventually help you to progress in this asana.

 

[papa_levante]

Would people suggest a class or trying moves at home on a DVD for a beginner?

Never done any yoga but would love to make it a routine part of my life.

 

[eu-pt]

For a beginner I would definitely suggest a class! Often we do mistakes that can even cause an injure in the worst case and we are not even aware that we're making them, a teacher will help you to be more aware of it and be able at a long term to correct yourself.

 

[papa_levante]

^ Thank you!

I know that a lot of yoga studios are donation; most classes are "free" but they prefer you drop a dollar or 5. Is this generally true for most yoga classes?

 

[northernsky]

I seriously don't know how I'll ever feel comfortable in headstand. My teacher is like 'just relax and breath', and I'm thinking, "hello, almost all my body weight is going through my head, how can I chill out in this pose?!".

As I understand it, your weight is NOT supposed to rest on your head. This would be unpleasant as well as stressful/dangerous for your cervical spine. I did gymastics when I was a kid, and could do a headstand already (but always found it unpleasant like you), but I had to learn it from the beginning in yoga because it is very different in my opinion. Resting the head in a kind of triangle formed by the underarms, I took very little steps, always checking if I could lift my head up, leaving most of the weight on the arms and shoulders, if not, I wouldn't yet lift the legs and feet for a full headstand. I hope this made sense Just be careful the vertrebrae (?) in the cervical spine are very delicate so they shouldn't take all the body weight alone

 

[eu-pt]

^ I suppose the headstand your talking about is this one: Sirsasana

I always do this asana on top of a folded blanket so that my head doesn't hurt so much!

©yogacards

 

[rox_yr_sox]

^ Thank you!

I know that a lot of yoga studios are donation; most classes are "free" but they prefer you drop a dollar or 5. Is this generally true for most yoga classes?

I have not found this to be true. I do iyengar yoga and all the classes cost money at the studio, except for one free class a week, which they use to attract newbies, in the hope that they'll sign up for paying classes. But iyengar uses props which the studio provides, so this costs money as well. I guess it depends on the type of teachers you want to be teaching you. Maybe, people might give free classes if they have other proper employment most the time. Whereas, if you go to a paying class, the teachers are just generally full-time yoga teachers, so you'd think there would be a greater level of expertise and skill.

In regards to the headstand, I just recently swicthed to using the folded blanket instead of a thin headstand mat on top of the wooden floor. It is certainly more comfortable. Also, I have a high degree of shoulder and arm strength to 'prop' my body up with. I'm starting to think I could just have an unusually 'floppy' neck/spinal cord or something like that!

 

[northernsky]

^ I suppose the headstand your talking about is this one: Sirsasana

My headstand always looks like the pictures in the second row. The one in the second row looks like what you do in gymnastics where your arms are only there to give you better balance. Probably the latter one is the 'proper' position but I think the other one is the safer option (and more comfortable in my experience)

Prices of yoga classes vary in my area, but in general it is not free although there is some kind of ashram where they give yoga classes, but the satsang and a few other events like concerts are free.

 

[rox_yr_sox]

^ Actually they're both 'proper' headstands, just different variations which provide different results (i.e. use different muscles, stimulate different areas); one is not more correct than the other.

The middle row position is also more comfortable and stable in my opinion and better lends itself to longer periods in headstand.

 

[northernsky]

^ Actually they're both 'proper' headstands, just different variations which provide different results (i.e. use different muscles, stimulate different areas); one is not more correct than the other.

The middle row position is also more comfortable and stable in my opinion and better lends itself to longer periods in headstand.

Ah, that makes sense. The pictures just made me think they were showing the progress towards the one 'proper' headstand (from the first to the last picture)

And I just realized how I still tend to think it is not the 'proper' position when I'm chosing the safer or easier alternatives given in class although my yoga teacher always stressed how it's more about understanding the principle of a position than making it look exactly like the model she gives or a picture in a book. Although I wish my face would not look as flabby as it always does in headstand

 

[eu-pt]

rox_yr_sox, I also practice B K S Iyengar yoga.

northernsky, from my personal experience I can tell you that I started doing the Sirsana with elbows down and arms forming a triangle, for several years that was what felt right for me. Very recently I began to feel more confident and probably with more strength on my dorsal and, very important, on my abdominal muscles and started doing it as the figure on the last row.
I soooo know what you mean about your face!!! I wish it was only my face that would look flabby in this asana!!!! But in that chapter IMO there is nothing worst then the shoulder stand - Sarvangasana.

 

[lost_in_chaos]

I do bikram yoga. I love it a lot, it helps me in so many different levels. I only have time to do it once a week, though

 

[Serenity*Now]

From the pictures, the first 2 rows look to be the same technique and the latter is more like a 'tripod'.

The first row is going up into the headstand by using your core and keeping your legs together.

I see most people begin to learn a headstand by doing the tripod version and either kicking up one leg at a time, putting their shins on their upper arms from that position & then going up, or by keeping your legs in a wide "V" (more balanced) and then bringing them together up top.

I think the weight distribution is more 80/20 (shoulders/head). Eventually you should/might/want to be able to lift your head up completely from the ground-by using your arms to push your whole body UP vs. tilting your head/chin forward. Then some fellow yogis (who seem to possess inherent upper body strength b/c they're guys! ) can transition into a handstand from a headstand and back.

 

[northernsky]

How is everyone doing?

I'm not making progress, concerning "higher, stronger, faster", which is doing me good because I started concentrating more on "getting into" the poses I already know. It's weird, sometimes it feels like I'm doing trikonasana for the first time (one of the easiest asanas for me)

I told a collegue I came straight from yoga one day, and she said, oh that's why you're glowing...! Bless her

She told me she wanted to try it, too

I have difficulties telling peope WHY I do yoga. It's just what I feel like doing. But people expect me to tell them how it does me good, but it's not that exactly.

What do you answer, if people ask you?