Headstand and Shoulder Stand

Sirsasana and Sarvangasana, often referred to as the "King and Queen" of the yoga postures and I am on the journey to find out why and how that applies to my practice.

In the most recent training weekend we approached full Headstand, as opposed the the many headstand preparations that can be done. I've done Headstand in the past, although I was never taught the prep first. I think I remember seeing it in a book in college and just going for it, without bothering to build the necessary strength and stamina to do it. Headstand should not be done until you have gained that strength. Poses such as Dolphin, is great for the shoulders. Then you can slowly work walking your feet closing to your body and eventually bringing your head to the mat and allowing a small amount of weight on it as your neck grows stronger. There are many other preps that a good teacher can also assist you on. Having learned that and gained the mobility and flexibility, I am now learning where I should be on my head and how to counter-lever in order for my legs to come up easily and together.

I've had a similar journey with Shoulder Stand. In the past year I have learned the importance of blankets in the pose, I find that 3 are working for me. The blankets aid in keeping your cervical spine (neck) from flattening and bearing all the weight of your body. Different neck lengths, shoulder tightness, etc... will determine what blanket set-up is right for you. There are also various preps for this, it can be done near a wall so that your knees are bent and feet are on the wall so again, not all the body weight is on your neck and shoulders.

I am now starting to practice these 2 poses everyday. I've been taught that Headstand must be followed by Shoulder Stand in a ratio of 1:2. So if I do 2 minutes of Headstand, I should do 4min of Shoulder Stand, but Shoulder Stand can be practiced by itself. It is a great pose to do before bed as it calms the nervous system. We were taught that it is primarily an energetic counter. Headstand builds heat and energy, while Shoulder Stand puts you into your Parasympathetic Nervous System, calming you down.

These poses are not easy! Anyone starting out should find a qualified teacher to guide them before practicing at home.

Here is a short article from Yoga Journal on the two poses.