Headstand (Sirsasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Sirsasana: shir-SHAHS-uh-nuh. Also written Shirshasana. The supported version is Salamba Sirsasana.

Sirsa means head and asana means posture. The body is upside down with the crown of the head on the floor, but the weight is meant to rest mainly on the forearms, not the head and neck.

How to do Headstand

1. Learn this with a teacher first, beside a wall. Kneel facing the wall, set your forearms on a folded mat, elbows shoulder-width apart, and interlace your fingers with the knuckles about a hand's width from the wall.
2. Place the very top of your head on the mat, with the back of the head cradled in your palms. Press the forearms down firmly so the shoulders lift away from the floor and the neck feels light.
3. Tuck the toes, lift the hips and walk the feet slowly toward your face until the hips are as close to stacked over the shoulders as you can manage.
4. Stay here for several breaths. If the neck takes the weight, or you cannot keep the shoulders lifted, this preparation is your practice for now.
5. Only when your teacher agrees the setup is steady: draw one knee into the chest, then the other, and lift both legs slowly without jumping, using the wall as backup.
6. Hold for a few breaths, lower with the same control, and rest in Child's Pose for at least a minute before you lift your head.

Make it easier

• Practise Dolphin Pose, on forearms with the head off the floor, to build shoulder strength before any weight goes on the head.
• Use a wall behind you so a wobble never becomes a fall, and try a headstand bench or inversion props only with a teacher's guidance.

Pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy. Avoid. Do not learn or practise Headstand in pregnancy. Only someone with a long, steady headstand practice who has been cleared by their OB or midwife should consider it, and even then with a wall and a teacher. Choose gentler poses instead.

After birth. Avoid. Leave inversions until your doctor or midwife has cleared you and your core, pelvic floor and upper body strength have come back. Rebuild with Dolphin Pose first and go back to Headstand only with a teacher.

Expecting or postpartum? See joahnnalee.com for the stage-by-stage guides.

Common mistakes

• Kicking or jumping up. It throws the weight onto the neck and is the most common way people fall.
• Letting the shoulders sink toward the floor so the head and neck carry the load.
• Placing the head too far forward on the forehead or too far back, so the neck bends instead of staying straight.
• Trying it alone in the middle of a room before you have a wall practice and a teacher's say-so.

Headstand is an advanced posture, and the safe way to learn it is slowly, in person, with a wall behind you and a teacher watching your neck and shoulders. It is not a reason to try going up on your own.

It is a pose best learnt in Vinyasa yoga with a teacher beside you, where the preparation at the wall comes long before any lift. To find an in-person class, start with the studio directory.

The other classic inversion, Handstand, balanced on the hands alone, asks more of the wrists and less of the neck, and is learned at a wall too.

For building shoulder strength on the forearms first, Dolphin Pose, Downward Dog on the forearms is the usual preparation. Scorpion, the advanced shape that adds a backbend to a forearm balance, has its own page: Scorpion Pose, Vrschikasana.

How do you prepare for Headstand?

Headstand is the end of a long build-up, not the start. A teacher will usually ask you to be steady in each of these first, over many sessions:

1. Dolphin Pose, five slow breaths, with the shoulders lifted away from the ears.
2. Forearm plank, holding steady for several breaths without the hips sagging.
3. Dolphin walk-ins, walking the feet toward the elbows while the head stays off the floor.
4. Head down, hips up, the first four steps of the pose, with the forearms doing the work.
5. Knee tucks at the wall, one knee and then both, only with a teacher beside you.

There is no set time this takes. For many people it is months of regular practice, and some decide the preparation alone is enough.

How long should you hold Headstand?

When you first lift up, a few breaths is plenty. Come down while you still feel strong, not when you are tired, and rest in Child’s Pose afterward. Longer holds are only for people with a steady, well-taught headstand and a teacher’s agreement. The breath should stay smooth the whole time.

Supported Headstand or Tripod Headstand?

On a hot day, inversions can bring on light-headedness sooner. Practise in a cool room and skip them if you feel dizzy or have not eaten or drunk enough.