Headstands101
January 20, 2014 | by Masumi Goldman
Headstands 101: Your First Inversion

If you want to invert but don’t know where to begin, you’ve come to the right place.  You CAN do a headstand safely and without fear—even if you have no prior experience in gymnastics, dance or yoga.  When I began my headstand practice about 14 months ago, I had absolutely NO background in any of these areas. I only started practicing inversions Headstands101at the age of 36!  It is never too late to learn a new hobby or skill.  Just be patient, and remember to practice.  It may not happen for you today, and that’s ok!  There is no timetable for success.  I will equip you with the tools and knowledge, and you will work at your own pace until you feel comfortable in the pose.

The inversion I want to introduce today is the tripod egg headstand.  The “tripod” refers to the triangle shape produced by the placement of your hands and the top of your head.  The “egg” refers to the tight oval tuck shape of your body in the final pose.  Please approach this pose with a can-do attitude.  You CAN, and you WILL.

Before attempting this pose, warm up your body with a bit of movement and stretching.  Hamstring flexibility is very important in this pose.

Let’s get started:

BalanceBlock
Step 1:  Find a book (or yoga block), and place it on top of your head to find the balance point. Press the book firmly onto your head so that you can remember the feeling of that balance point.  The balance point of the book will not necessarily be your balance point in a headstand, but it is a starting point, and you can adjust accordingly once you test that spot for comfort.

Step 2:  Come onto your hands and knees into tabletop position.  Check your form, and make sure that your shoulders are stacked directly above your wrists, and your hips are stacked above your knees.
Tabletop

Step 3:  Bend your elbows to form 90-degree angles, and place the top of your head onto the floor in front of your hands.  Make sure that you can see your fingertips at all times!  Your hands should NOT be along side your ears.  Your hands and head form a triangle rather than a straight line.

Step 4:  Tuck your toes, and lift your knees from the floor.  Walk your feet in towards your hands/head so that your hips are lifted high into the air.  Assess how you feel.  If your hamstrings are straining, stop and re-visit this pose after you feel Dolphinmore limber.  If your neck feels strained, focus on lengthening your neck so that your shoulders are drawn away from your ears.  If the top of your head hurts, adjust your balance point a few inches.  Personally, my own balance point in a headstand is not the same as the balance point with the book on my head.  I usually balance a few inches closer to my forehead.  This is an exploration.  Find the right spot for your own body.

Step 5:  Make sure that your elbows do not splay to the sides.  Your elbows should continue to point in the SAME direction that you are facing!  If you feel comfortable, lift one knee onto one tricep.
DolphinOneLeg

Step 6:  If you still feel comfortable, slowly lift your other foot from the floor and place it on the back of your other tricep.  Remember to keep your neck long, and breathe!  Congratulations on your very first headstand.
HeadstandEgg

One important point to mention—if you lose your balance, tuck your chin to your chest, round your back, and somersault out of the pose.  You might even want to practice your forward rolling skills PRIOR to starting this tutorial.  It’s no fun to fall, but if you somersault out of the pose, you technically aren’t falling.  It is a controlled and safe way to exit the tripod egg headstand.

Wherever you may be in your yoga practice today, I assure you that it is perfect.  Honor yourself and your body.  Namaste.

 

56 Comments
  • Tank you for this tutorial but for the life of me I just cant bring myself to hold even the first “real” position (the one where you stand on your head with the legs extended in a straight line but the feet still on the floor). I am neither untrained nor inexperienced in yoga but if I try to stand on my head I just can’t find the balance and the top of my head hurts. Also, I give that if the arms are bent like you show it they don’t provide enough support for me to balance my weight. Do you have any advice on how to practice this position or to achieve more neck/core strength so that I’ll be able to do a handstand? Or maybe a different way of placing the arms?
    Thanks and keep up the amazing, inspirational work :)

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    • I’m a big believer in the following: If it hurts, stop and adjust. If it still hurts, don’t do it. We are all built differently, and what is comfortable for one person will feel horrific for someone else. I suggest that you try again with your yoga mat on a carpeted surface. See if that makes a difference. If not, try changing your balance point. The first time I tried a headstand, the top of my head didn’t feel great either. That’s when I discovered that if I balance on a point that is a bit closer to my forehead (as opposed to the top and middle of my head), I felt fine. If neither of these suggestions works, I suggest trying a supported headstand (sirsasana A), which is a headstand with the forearms on the ground, fingers interlaced, and arms making a basket around the head. Google it so you can see what I’m talking about. Maybe I can do a tutorial on that headstand as well. Good luck!

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      • Using the supported headstand interlaced fingers made a big difference for me. Also, I fold my mat over to that it is more cushioned under my head. And I do it near (not leaning on) a wall for confidence. Been practising 6 months and have gradually worked up to an consistent unsupported, straight-legged, no-wall headstand!

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        • Masumi Goldman

          Congrats on your accomplishment! I also prefer the supported headstand. I’ve found that beginners have a higher rate of success with the tripod headstand, but I’m very happy to hear that your hard work and consistency have paid off! Good for you.

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        • Interlaced headstand puts way too much stress on your neck. And there isn’t much else you can do with it other that be upside down. With the tripod you can do tricks. You can press your legs up. You can push over into a bridge, you can move your hands closer to your head for a more challenging inline headstand. Best headstand for progressing to the handstand hands down!!!

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  • I meant “thank you” not tank you and “I feel that” not I give that. Stupid autocorrect, sorry

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  • Thank you for this great explanation. It really helps. I get a lot of pressure in my head when I try this (more than I would feel in supported headstand). Is it because I am aligning incorrectly? My instructor suggested a better mat mat with more cushioning, but I’m not sure. Do you have any advise?

    Thank you!

    P.S. I love your site!

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    • Hi! I just typed up a response to someone else that might answer your question. Please take a look through the comments. (I think you might just need to move your balance point closer to your forehead.)

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  • I’m so grateful for this post! I thought I had such a long way before doing a headstand. This was such a confidence booster! Thank you for sharing!

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  • I saw your post of this on Instagram and loved it! I am so excited to start in inversions and now I’m able to do a headstand. Thank you for this confidence booster! Now if you could help with handstands I’d love to be able to do one of those. I hope you have more tutorials soon. You are quite the inspiration!

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  • This is an awesome explanation! I actually got it first try. That being said my alignment is no where near as straight as yours, but it gives me something to work for. Any more tutorials for arm balances/head stands/ or press ups that may make learning a little easier would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.. :):):)

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  • Thank you for this! I can’t wait to try it. I’m looking forward to more tutorials from you both!

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  • This might seem obvious, but it made me wonder… why does your pants cover your heels?

    Thanks for this introduction, I’ve been following your IG for a while (I found it bc of a autoimmune-#-search…) and I’ve wanted to start, but needed a something like this;) so thanks again. very inspiring!

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    • Hahaha—you’re funny. The leggings are over my heels because they are unusually long. I could pull them up, but they would be all scrunched up around my ankles. That’s fine for my actual practice, but not particularly good looking for a photo. Thanks for finding me in the autoimmune hashtag. I hope this site helps you!

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  • I just did my first head stand since I was 8 or so! It was so easy with your awesome instructions, Thank you so much – I’m so proud of my self!

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  • It’s really hurt when I try put my knee to the tricep.

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  • For the life of me, I just can’t get my arms bent the right way. It feels like they aren’t 90 degrees even though my husband assured me they and has even taken photos to prove it! :/

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  • Hey there!!

    I (surprisingly) got this on my first try!!! I’ve completely impressed myself and I’m so proud! I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis since I was 4 and I went off the typical corticosteroid meds in September. Yoga and climbing are what have been keeping me motivated and in a positive light. Thank you so much for posting this. I’m in love with yoga! This will be my 2nd month of consistent yoga and I’ve completed my first inversion! Yayyyyy

    Love,
    Liv Loo

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  • Uhmm…. I can do it but it gives me a bad headache..
    Should I stop doing headstands and try to accomplish arm stands and handstands if so?
    Or do I need to adjust to it?

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  • great tutorial! got it on the first day and i’ve never done yoga in my life! :) where do we go from here? start trying to lengthen your legs up i’d assume?? thank you so much!! :)

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  • Love ur web, please keep post more tutorial like this me and my friends from Indonesia been following you and laura IG forawhile now and you guys has given us many inspirative pose. Makes me always excited to come home and start practicing,thanx guys .

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  • This is awesome! I hope you can post a “step 2″ for beginners wanting to do inversions!

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  • Thank you for this intro! I tried my first inversion a week ago, but it didn’t feel quite right. The tips about keeping my elbows straight and my neck long definitely improved my second attempt :)

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  • Incredibly inspiring tutorial! Thank you! I will try this in my practice today. Also wanted to say that the website looks great! I got my first newsletter today and was so excited! You and Laura are awesome! :))

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  • Thank you for this tutorial ! That was easier than I expected. How do I get my legs up? I can not imagine kicking them up? Thanks again. I am looking forward to more tutorials on inversions.
    Mary

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  • Yaaay I can do something cool (still looks like crap but hey, you gotta start somewhere)!!
    Thank you both so much for showing the beginners some love :-)

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    • Hi!! Just got super excited that we share the same name! I can get into this but I can feel it looks very sloppy so I’m going to start work on tightening it up today.

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  • Because of you I finally pressed up to headstand from tripod!!!!! thanks!

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  • I did it!! My first headstand. Thank you so much Masumi!!

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  • <3 from your friend Puss in Boots

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  • Thank you Masumi for this really cool tutorial. It has helped me so much in achieving and correcting this pose. I am new at yoga but i am so in love with it. I will stay tuned for more tips!! Thank you :)

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  • Hi ! I tried this headstand but i felt so much tension in my neck the following day, do you have any tips to prevent that ?
    Thank you ! :) you girls are such an inspiration

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    • Make sure you make a conscious effort to keep your neck long by rolling your shoulders down away from your ears. If you jam your shoulders up toward your ears, you will feel sore the next day. Make sure you take a couple of days off from headstands until the discomfort goes away. It’s also a good idea if you can get in front of a yoga teacher so that they can see your form and help you!

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  • I am in love with your whole site. I randomly found you on instagram now I follow both of you. In the last two days I have tried things on this site that I never thought I could do. I learned my yoga from a show on tv. Thanks for the confidence booster, I’m telling all of my friends about you.

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  • I thought I would never be able to do this because I’ve always had issues with pressure on my head. I took your advice, and explored where the pressure felt “ok” and managed to find a good spot! I did several head stands yesterday (with the wall as support) and a couple today. I’m so excited! It was all because I followed your post to the letter! Thank you so much!!!

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  • This is an awesome and very encouraging instruction! This article caught my attention when i read “No prior experience necessary”

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  • I just did my first inversion thanks to your instruction and encouragement… I am so elated!! What an awesome way to start my day!!! Thank you so much!!!!

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  • Hi! I know this is an older article, but I follow you on instagram and found your site a few months back. I approached this pose with positivity but definitely fear as well and the first few times I almost panicked just getting my hips over my head in step 4! It has taken me a very long and a lot of dedication and taking it slow, but today I did my first full headstand (against a wall) using this guide and I could not be happier! I did have a few moments where I felt my back touch the wall and I got scared but I’ve been learning to breathe and take my time and it has been so rewarding! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!! There are not words to express how grateful I am that I found your site! I looked at videos and tons of tutorials on getting started on inversions and this one was the best, and I can tell it was made with lots of love.

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    • Congratulations!! I’m so happy that you found success by following this tutorial. Thank you for reading, for practicing, and for taking the time to write such a nice comment.

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  • Hi, I’ve been trying to practice bound headstand for a while but I just can’t seem to walk close enough that my hips stack on top of my shoulders! Do you have any tips for that?

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    • The best tip is to work on your hamstring flexibility on a regular basis. Once you gain flexibility in the backs of your legs, it will be much easier to stack your hips over your shoulders.

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  • This was incredibly helpful! I’ve never been able to do a headstand (and was very hesitant to even try one), but this was surprisingly easy and doable! Thank you so much!! :D

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  • Yeyy did it first try and even managed to extend my legs to almost straight up! Lots more practice needed though. I tried the interlaced finger one and it just seems to hurt my neck, so i will stick to this one and practice more. What is your instagram account name?

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  • Got it on my first try after carefully reading every step!!!! THANK YOU! I was trying to do this with another headstand how-to and got discouraged because I couldn’t get it. Decided to give it another try after reading this one annnndd VOILAH!

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