How to do a headstand safely

Every few weeks somebody tells us, usually with some pride, that they got into a headstand at home from watching a video. Sometimes they are fine. Occasionally they have been loading their neck badly for months and have the stiffness to show for it.

Sirsasana is worth learning. It is also worth learning slowly, and the reason is simple physics.

Where the weight actually goes

This is the whole thing, and most people have it backwards.

In a correct headstand, the forearms and elbows carry the majority of your weight. The crown of the head rests on the floor and takes a light, steady contact — enough to orient you, not enough to compress the neck. If you came out of the posture and someone slid a sheet of paper under your head, it should move without much resistance.

The cervical spine is a stack of small bones designed to hold up a head that weighs about five kilograms. It is not designed to hold up the other sixty. If your arms are not strong enough to do the work, the neck does it instead, and that is where problems come from.

So the real preparation for headstand is not balance practice. It is shoulders.

Build the shoulders first

Spend two to four weeks on dolphin pose before you put your head on the floor at all.

Forearms on the mat, elbows directly under the shoulders and shoulder-width apart, hands either clasped or parallel. Lift the hips into an inverted V. Press the forearms down and draw the shoulders away from the ears. Hold thirty seconds, build towards a minute, three or four times.

When you can hold dolphin for a minute with the shoulders lifted and the elbows staying put, you have the strength. If the elbows slide apart, you do not yet — and elbows sliding apart is the single most common cause of the head taking too much load.

Forearm plank helps for the same reason, and so does anything that strengthens the upper back. A traditional class builds this incidentally over months, which is why students who practise daily arrive at headstand almost without noticing.

Setting the arms and head

Work near a wall, about fifteen centimetres from it — close enough to catch you, not so close that you cannot straighten.

1. Kneel and place the forearms down. Measure the elbows by holding opposite elbows with opposite hands — that distance is shoulder width, and it is the distance to keep.
2. Without moving the elbows, interlace the fingers, tucking the bottom little finger in so you are not resting on it.
3. Place the crown of the head on the mat — the very top, not the forehead and not the back of the skull. The back of the head rests lightly against the cupped hands, which stop it sliding. Do not squeeze the head with the palms.
4. Press down through the forearms and lift the shoulders away from the ears. This lift is the posture. If you lose it at any point, come down.

The five stages

Move to the next stage only when the current one is comfortable for thirty seconds with the shoulders still lifted. For most people that is several weeks, not several days.

1. Dolphin. No head contact. Build to a minute.
2. Head down, hips up. Set the arms and head, tuck the toes and walk the feet towards the elbows until the hips stack over the shoulders. Stay here. Most of the work of a headstand is learning this shape.
3. One knee in. Draw one knee towards the chest, keeping the hips stacked. Swap sides. No jumping.
4. Both knees in. Bring the second knee up and balance with the knees tucked. This is a complete posture in its own right and plenty of people stay here for months.
5. Legs extended. Straighten the legs slowly, engaging the belly, until the body is one line. Come down the same way you went up — knees tuck first, then feet to the floor.

Never kick or jump up. If you cannot get there slowly, you are not there yet.

The common mistakes

• Elbows drifting wide. The base collapses and the head takes the load. Check them every time.
• Shoulders sinking towards the ears. The posture is a lift, not a rest.
• Arching the lower back and letting the legs fall past vertical. Engage the belly and stack the hips.
• Looking around. Keep the gaze steady and straight ahead; turning the head under load is exactly what the neck cannot do.
• Staying too long too soon. Ten seconds done well beats two minutes done badly.
• Coming down in a rush. Descend with control, then rest in child's pose for a few breaths before standing up.

Who should not do it

Skip headstand altogether if you have a neck injury or ongoing neck pain, uncontrolled high blood pressure, glaucoma or other eye conditions affected by pressure, a retinal problem, or a heart condition. Do not practise it during pregnancy unless it was already an established practice and your doctor agrees, and avoid it during menstruation if that is your tradition's guidance.

If you are unsure, ask a doctor rather than the internet. There are plenty of other postures.

How long to hold

Start with ten to fifteen seconds and add a little each week. Two to three minutes is a solid practice; the traditional longer holds belong to people with years behind them and a teacher watching.

Always follow a headstand with a counter-posture. Child's pose for several breaths is the simplest, and in the Sivananda order the shoulderstand sequence follows later in the class rather than immediately.

One last thing. There is no prize for this posture. Some bodies take a month and some take two years, and the ones that take two years are not doing it wrong. If you would like eyes on it, the daily classes in Fort Kochi include inversions with hands-on guidance and a wall — class times are here, and a private session is the fastest way to get the set-up right.

Headstand’s partner in the classical sequence is shoulderstand, and it has its own safe set-up: how to do shoulderstand safely.

Common questions

How long does it take to learn a headstand?

Most people need one to three months of regular practice, and some take considerably longer. The limiting factor is usually shoulder strength rather than balance or fear, which is why dolphin pose is the place to start.

Is a headstand bad for your neck?

Not when the arms carry the weight, which is how it is meant to be done. It becomes risky when the elbows slide wider than the shoulders and the head takes the load. If you have any neck injury or ongoing neck pain, skip it.

Should I learn headstand against a wall?

Yes. A wall about fifteen centimetres away catches you without letting you lean on it. Learning with a teacher beside you is better still for the first few attempts.

Who should avoid headstand?

Anyone with a neck injury, uncontrolled high blood pressure, glaucoma or other pressure-sensitive eye conditions, retinal problems or a heart condition. Also avoid it in pregnancy unless it was already established and your doctor agrees.