Poses >> Salamba Sirsasana

Salamba Sirsasana II

Salamba(supported)
Sirsa(head)

This is a variation of headstand where the palms press flat onto the floor. Some people know it as “tripod headstand.”

1.Kneel on your mat with your knees and feet together. Place your right palm on the floor just outside the right knee, and the left palm just outside the left knee. The fingers should point straight forward and the hands should be no wider than the shoulders.

2. Move the knees slightly back and place the crown of your head in the center of your mat. It should be a few inches in front of the fingertips.

3. Tuck your toes and take your knees off the floor. Stretch the legs straight and try to make the back erect. The spine should point up into the sky from the head to the tailbone.

4. Bend the knees and take a deep inhale. Exhale, and gently swing the feet from the floor and lift the legs up into the sky. Both feet should leave the floor together. Extend the legs straight up and press skyward with the balls of your feet.

5. The weight of your body should be evenly distributed on the tripod of your two hands and head. However, more advanced students can bring more weight into the top of the head and use the hands simply to help balance. The forearms are perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other. Try not to bunch the shoulders up by your neck; keep them lifting and spreading.

6. Stay in the pose for as long as comfortable, breathing deeply. To release, slowly lower your legs to the floor, bend your knees and take Child’s Pose (balasana).

If you are fearful of going upside down, you aren’t alone. You can do this against a wall if it makes you feel safer. There is a weightless sensation when you get the entire body in a line perpendicular to the floor. Don’t fight this. Use your breathing to help keep calm and focused.

Being upside down in Headstand reverses the effects of gravity on the body. You are granted a reprieve from the constant pressure of the Earth’s pull on your skeleton. The pituitary and pineal glands are stimulated in this pose. The arms, shoulders, abdominal and spine are strengthened. The brain is calmed with the excess blood flow and the lungs are challenged. Some traditions of yoga know headstand as “the king of all poses.”

Text and Video by Featured Yogamates Teacher: Vytas Baskauskas