ŚĪRṢĀSANA (HEADSTAND POSE)

ŚĪRṢĀSANA (HEADSTAND POSE)

Śīrṣāsana, also known as head stand, is a great pose to develop upper body strength and balance. It works the shoulders, arms and wrists. It is essentially doing tāḍāsana up side down, keeping the body erect and fully engaged.

Stand with sitting in vajrāsana. Measure your elbows by bringing the hands around elbows and then placing them down on the mat. The distance between your elbows will be the distance between the shoulders. Then form a triangular base and interlock your fingers together. Place the top of your head on the floor, with the back of the head nestled in the hands. Lift your shoulders up, away from the ears, allowing the neck to stay long. Press the forearms firmly into the ground. Then lift your hips up and walk the legs closer to the trunk of the body. Bend your knees and slowly lift the knees up away from the ground. First come into a place where the knees stay close to the abdomen. Find the balance here. Then raise the knees higher, where the knees are pointing up toward the ceiling, and the feet are on the other side. This will ensure the proper positioning of the pelvis. After this, raise the legs fully up to the ceiling. Keep pressing the forearms down into the floor, keeping the shoulders lifted. Keep the legs engaged and allow the spine to stay lengthened. Stretch up though the inner legs, as though you are in tadasana upside down. To come out of the pose, slowly bring the knees towards the chest, and finally stepping down onto the floor. Lower the knees down and come into child’s pose.

If you are fully balanced in headstand you can practice some variations such as spreading the legs wide apart and forming a v-shape. Another variation is to bring the legs into a lotus position once you are up. This would require open hips and knee flexibility.


The benefits of this posture include strengthening of the shoulders and upper arms. Being an inversion, it rejuvenates the brain cells with fresh oxygen. It removes tiredness and sluggishness from the body and keeps you energised. It helps against depression and insomnia.

The counter indications for this pose are high blood pressure, back injuries, wrist injuries and menstruation. It is advisable to avoid doing this pose if you have any of the above.