Drills to Help With Headstands
Ever happen to catch a glimpse of some fellow yogis taking a headstand from wide side-facing forward fold in your vinyasa class? Do you go home and flail yourself against the wall wondering how they have the guts to just do that right in the middle of the room??
Here are some drills to help you gain the strength and the confidence to do a headstand in class!
The two most popular headstands you will see are tripod headstand (Sirsasana II) and forearm headstand (Sirsasana !). There are benefits to practicing both and you will probably find one easier than the other depending on your shoulder flexibility and arm strength. I like to start teaching forearm headstand first because it is a closed chain and a bigger foundation with your forearms on the mat.
Try these drills:
Starting in table top, find the appropriate width of your elbows by clasping onto the opposite side with each hand. Keep your elbows where they are and interlace your fingers. Place the back of your head into your hands.
Drill 1: From table top practice shoulder blade elevation and depression by pushing against the mat with your forearms and lifting your head off the mat an inch or two. This push against the mat will stay constant throughout the posture so do not skip this part of feeling the movement of the shoulders.
Drill 2: Once you feel comfortable with drill 1, progress the same drill only now on your feet so your hips are up like you would be in downward facing dog.
Drill 3: Once you feel comfortable with drill 2, walk your feet in as far as you can aiming to get your hips above your shoulders then bring one knee in to your chest. Keep drill 1 and 2 in your head, since you want to maintain a push with the forearms so you are not laying all the weight on the top of the head.
Drill 4: Once you feel comfortable with drill 3, start to gently push with the foot that is still on the mat until your hips are above the shoulders. I can not stress this enough DO NOT KICK UP, no matter how many times I say these 4 words everyone wants to kick up!!
Drill 5: Once you feel comfortable with drill 4, bring the other knee into the chest so you are basically in a ball shape.
Drill 6: Once you feel comfortable with drill 5, slowly extend your legs up. When you first start with this phase maybe try it against a wall for support.
Try it! Post your progression and tag me!
If you want more arm balancing tips sign up for my arm balancing workshop called “Learn to Fly” at Down Under in Brookline on July 13th.