How to Yoga - Headstand

in #health8 years ago (edited)

Good day, Steemians!

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man...Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers." -- Heraclitus


With the launch of Eden 2.0 and yoga at Steemfest next week,
I'm reminded that travel makes life really precious.
Anything is possible!
It illuminates impermanence;
every experience holds more weight because
it is fleeting and scarce.
I'm giving heaps of thanks for @quinneaker
and the Eden Knights,
and I'm wondering how our journeys will shape us
as we work towards focused, radiant achievement
from different parts of the world.  
I'm also very excited to meet you, dear Steemians,
and I hope it will be the first of many important collaborations.
What will we create together??
What will we take away from it,
and how will we use that until we meet again??
There is so much to be done!
I'm wandering, wondering, and daydreaming,
so I'm going to come back to yoga to focus
myself towards the tasks at hand.
Here's a great move for :
 


This is Headstand

AKA Sirsasana in Sanskrit

(sirsa = head, asana = pose/posture)


Headstand is the king of the asanas.


Inversions flip your perspective,
and they're a super fun way to engage the unknown!
Once you find that sweet spot of balance,
you can play around with hand and leg positions
and have a fantastic time! 

It's said that 5 minutes of headstand a day
can eliminate colds and sinus problems from your life altogether.
Freshly oxygenated blood rushes to the brain,
powering up the pineal and pituitary glands
and all that other important stuff up there.
Circulation is boosted and skin is refreshed,
as gravity helps prana flow through the system. 

It's not uncommon for fear to come up
when practicing headstands.
It can feel scary to flip upside down!
Physically, you can practice against a wall,
which is great for trusting that you are fully held and supported.

Moving away from the wall can feel unsettling,
but you're already on the ground
so it's not that big a deal even if you do fall.
Besides, there's plenty to learn from falling too.

Part of the juiciness of a great yoga practice
lies in overcoming challenges,
and achieving that which was once impossible.

As with all things,
the more you practice,
the better you get.
One reason I love yoga is because you can
improve very quickly if you set your mind to it,
and headstand is a great measure for how far you've come. 



How to HEADSTAND:

  • There's lots of ways to come into this; here's a few variations.
  • From kneeling, bring the crown of the head to the mat. 
  • There are a few hand positions you can take: I like to loosely rest my fingertips on the back of my head with my forearms on the ground. You can also plant the palms of your hands in the mat, shoulder distance apart some inches in front of your face with the elbows bent at 90 degrees. 
  • To bend the elbows is potentially easier for beginners, because you can bring the knees to the elbows and pull the toes off the floor. From this supported position, you can breathe and get a feel for being upside down for as long as you need before extending the legs.
  • With the fingers around the head, walk the toes towards the bodies so the hips stack over shoulders. Inhale and draw the legs up.
  • Extend through the feet, lengthening the entire body. Length, length, length!
  • There is actually very little weight resting in the head; the hands or forearms and shoulders bear some.
  • Draw the navel in.
  • Play with your legs! Bend them, lower the toes straight out in front for an L squat, bring the soles of the feet together, cross one over the other, do the splits, come to lotus, whatever! Just have fun swinging them around. 
  • If you fall, try again.

Breathe in, breathe out. 

Breathe in, breathe out. 

Breathe in, breathe out.



💛  Sara!
We make custom Steemit gear!
Thank you @everlove for the lovely photography (super stoked to play with you in Amsterdam!!),
and thank you
@quinneaker for living YOGA and showing me a better way! 

>:<>:<>:<>:<

You can still get a ticket for STEEMFEST! Reserve your spot in Yoga!

Thank you @quinneaker & @roelandp for making my dream to teach at STEEMFEST a reality! 

Sort:  

How very true. The river of Steemit has washed over me and I am a different person than I was 3 months ago.

Amen! Steemit really came out of left field for me, and I'm so grateful for the changes it has inspired within myself.

Your daily yoga posts are so inspiring to me. Part of my Steemit routine every day is to go looking for the next one. Thanks so much for creating these!

Wow, thank you! I really appreciate your support and am grateful that you tune in every day. I really love yoga, and I'm glad that I can share it!

Thanks for a beautiful post! My favorite is doing headstands on the beach and looking at the blue sky and world upside down with ocean and sand as the ceiling~catching birdies fly by and following their path haha~ also love to have my legs do a helicopter motion back and forth while in it... another legendary asana, bless!

I'm not sure if you still check steemit as this was posted two years ago but I'd like to say that your post was a breath of fresh air. Usually, I get bored when there is a massive intro - I mean the entire reason I​ joined steemit in the first place is so I could find posts that get straight to it, saving hours of fiddling around on the internet. But anyways that's besides my point; I really enjoyed how not only you got to 'how to headstand' in a structured format but how you mentioned health benefits for it prior. Kind of hooked me if i say so myself. Hope you're still blogging.

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