Soon after I started Yoga one year ago, I became intrigued of all the inversions, like Sirsasana (Headstand) and its variations, Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand), Vrishchikasana (Scorpion) and Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand), and always wanted to master of all of them. Although it was quite fearful in the beginning to swing yourself in an upside-down position, I soon became used to it and now I’m able to do most of them without any support. Now I wanted to share some tips for everyone who also wants to learn these Inversions:

• Before practicing Inversions go for Core Yoga classes or just work on your Core muscles. With weak core muscles there’s no way to do Inversions the right way. Of course you can always jump into any Inversion, but the chances of falling and as a result of that getting injured are quite high. Lifting your legs slowly up into headstand looks first of all much more elegant and is also much safer. But this of course requires strong core muscles, which is why you want to practice on them before advancing to the Inversions.
• Make sure your foundation and alignment is correct. Since Inversions can quickly result in injuries, it is important to have a safe foundation and the correct alignment. For example, in Sirsasana (Headstand) you should always rest the crown of your head on the floor and in the final position have 30% percent of the body weight on the head (the rest on the elbows and shoulders). Any other alignment can result in neck injuries, because the neck is trained too much. So check for the correct alignment in a book or ask your teacher before practicing.
• Conquer your fear. Many people who are doing Inversions the first time are afraid of falling down and as a result of that stop practicing. That’s why you should first practice with wall support. When your back in the final position faces the wall there is no way to fall down to the back. Of course you can fall to the front, but this is comparatively much less fearsome than falling to the back and quite risk free. After you feel ready to do it without wall support you can advance to a position in the middle of the room to continue practicing.
• Don’t rush. If you want to learn the Inversions don’t start with the hard ones. It is madness as a beginner to start with Pincha Majurasana (Forearm Stand) or even Handstand. The chances of failing are near 100%. Start with simple Inversions like Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) and its variations (Sarvangasana cycle). Then progress to Sirsasana (Headstand) and again its variations (Sirsasana cycle). Afterwards you can proceed to Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Stand), then Vrishchikasana (Scorpion pose) and finally to Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand). Make sure that you’re strong and steady in one pose before you proceed to the next.

Regular practice of Inversions result in a lot of positive results, because blood is flowing to the head. You will feel physically and mentally revitalized and more relaxed as a result of the reversed blood flow. Also blood circulation is improved and overall well being. It improves your core strength and balance.

Not without reason is headstand known as the king of all asanas!

Amon

After quite a few years of yoga practice, with various teachers that all agree on what is the perfect alignment in basic poses, you start to believe that these poses have no secret for you and you are craving for more challenges. It was therefore quite a shock when Master Paalu described what should be a perfect Adho mukha svanasana (downward dog) and the consequences of doing this asana right or wrong for the rest of your vinyasa.

The common explanations I received over the previous group classes was that when in downward dog:

• you should have your back flatten
• you should aim at having your hills touching the floor but it’s ok if you can’t
• you should do a nice V shape and spread the weights equally on your legs and arms
• you should push the floor away with your hands

Additionally, from Adho mukha svanasana you should be able to move to Santolasana (high plank) without moving your feet and your shoulders will be automatically above your wrists. The high plank position therefore really helps you know how wide your downward dog should be.

With this practice, I could go easily through many vinyasas without feeling too tired, even the chaturangas were ok for me. However, I was not improving in arm-balancing poses and not even close to hold a hand stand.

What Master Paalu told us shaken me up because to him all the teachers are wrong. Not only is the downward dog too wide when you do it the way I described previously but your planks and chaturangas are also wrong and will not help you balance on your arms and can lead to wrist injuries. And here is why:

• Apart from very stiff persons, your hills should be on the floor in downward dog, which means that you need to shorten the distance between your feet and your hands.
• To hold the pose, you need to engage your hip flexors, a good way to know if you are indeed doing it is to try to hold a towel between your lower belly and your upper thighs. It is actually really hard to do but with patience and practice you will be able to do it.
• Most of the weights should be on your legs in order to hold the pose more comfortably.

You might think, ok but if the distance is shorter between my feet and hands, I will not be able to go straight to plank without moving my feet, right ? Well, actually the key thing is that your shoulders should be not be above your wrists in plank or chaturanga, they should be much more forward ! This way your elbows will form a 90 degrees angle when you go down to chaturanga. Additionally for all the arm-balancing poses you need to move your shoulders forward to have enough strength and balance.

This “new” alignment makes the vinyasa more challenging because different arm muscles are engaged but it really helped me to improve my crow poses (even one legged crow) in no time. Engaging voluntarily my hip flexors was also my key to go up to hand stand.

Give it a try and see for yourself.

– Stephanie –