Challenge Pose : Sirsasana II (Tripod Headstand)

Sirsasana II (Tripod Headstand)

I received an email recently, requesting for a breakdown for Tripod Headstand (Sirsasana II). This practitioner had previously attended my Inversions 101 Workshop a couple of months ago, but found that she has yet to gain confidence and stability in this asana. I hope the following steps help. Please remember that this is an intermediate asana - practice with intelligence, awareness and compassion, and use a wall where necessary. Slowly wean yourself from the wall by inching away from it as you gain more confidence in the asana. Please avoid if you have high or low blood pressure, neck pain, dizziness or have had recent surgery.

Step 1.

Please warm up with 8 to 12 rounds of Sun Salutations first before preparing yourself for Sirsasana II. From Child's Pose, place your palms shoulder-width apart, and the crown of your head on your mat in front of your palms. Your head and both palms should form a triangle, and this would be your tripod base.
(Problem locating the crown of your head? You know how runway models balance a book on their heads to train to walk with a perfect posture? The place on top of the head where the book is balancing on, is the crown).
Lift your knees off the mat and walk towards your arms. Place one knee then the next onto your triceps, engage your legs by hugging your inner thigh muscles (adductors) towards the midline. You can either point or flex your toes here. It is very important at this stage, to hug the arms into the midline and not allow the elbows to splay (otherwise you'll lose the 'power in the arms'). As you can see, the arms are in "Chaturanga" mode, where the elbows are stacked directly over the wrists.
Engage your core muscles, stack your hips over your shoulders, and lift the shoulders away from the elbows so that you're not compressing the neck. Stay here for a few breaths, and then rest in Child's Pose.

Step 2.

Once you've found comfort in the first stage, it's time to get to the halfway mark. Still firing up your inner thighs and hugging them into the midline, slowly start to lift your knees off your upper arms and bring your thighs parallel to the floor. Remember the rules of engagement : lift the shoulders away from the elbows, and don't let the elbows splay. Find your centre of gravity here, and enjoy hovering in Half Tripod for a few breaths, and then rest in Child's Pose, OR

Step 3

Actively reach through your toes, and extend both legs up, up, up. Stay as compact as possible, and don't rush the experience of coming into the full Sirsasana II. When you've maintained your centre of gravity, you'll find lightness in the asana, and not feel like there is too much pressure on the head, or crunching in the neck. According to B.K.S Iyengar in his book Iyengar : The Yoga Master, the weight ratio in Sirsasana II is 60% on the head and 40% on the hands/arms.

Practise with relaxed breaths and patience - eventually the full expression of the asana will unfold. And remember to have fun along the way.

"It always seems impossible until it's done" ~ Nelson Mandela.

Inversions 101 : A Posture Clinic

Join me on Saturday, 8 June, 10.45am-1pm at the Shala as we view the world the other way up, in a safe, approachable and fun manner.

This posture clinic is suitable for Intermediate practitioners and Beginners with at least 3 months regular practice.  To reserve your mat space, please text or call 012-9764866.

Never.Lose.Hope

It was an exceptionally hot and humid Sunday evening when I stepped onto my mat for some self-practice. As I sat in Sukhasana with hands in Jnana Mudra, I softly closed my eyes and tried to shut out any form of distractions.... both externally as well as internally.  As always, it wasn't easy.  Sweat was already trickling down my forehead before I even landed on an affirmation for my practice, and as my door was open, my cat wandered in, plonked himself down next to me, and I could hear deep purring as he settled down for Savasana.

As my Ujjayi breathing got into a rhythmic pattern, my mind settled on a single word.  'FEAR'.  Fear (Bhaya, in Sanskrit) rears its ugly head into my practice all the time.  Sometimes, it's in a form of 'in-your-face-sticking-its-tongue-out' fear, but mostly it partners with its best friend, the Ego (Ahamkara).  For example, if I can stay comfortably in an inversion, albeit with the comfort of the wall behind me, then why can't I bring myself to practice the asana in the middle of the room?  Have I already forgotten the stern warnings I had from my Master in India, when I pulled my mat to the wall when we were to practise Sirsasana?  I mean, come on, will I really hurt myself if I fall down from doing a Handstand in the centre of the room.... or is it the ego that will be bruised if I do fall?

Fear is illusory.  On its own, it cannot survive.  Feed it, succumb to it, and one will be helplessly drawn into the perilous waves of Samsara.

So with these thoughts racing through my head, I landed on an affirmation for the day's practice.

"Today, I will face the fear, and do it anyway.  Every challenge I face is an opportunity to learn, grow and improve".

After a good hour into my practice, I proceeded to inversions.  For the past few months now, I've been trying to practise changing hand positions from Sirsasana to Tripod Headstand, without falling down.  The switcheroo didn't come easy for me, and I've bruised my cheek, bumped my knee, stubbed my toe, and pulled a muscle in the neck, trying to get it right.  And out of frustration, I pulled my mat against the wall and haplessly allowed myself to crawl back into my comfort zone, while trying to get the 'asana right'.

But today would be different.  Today I will face Fear, and it will be my turn to stick my tongue out and tell the Ego to bugger off.

So, did I fall down while attempting the switcheroo?  You betcha!  

But did I give up?  Nope.

Sometimes, the only way to stay up, is to fall down, over and over and over again.

Love, Light, Peace and Hope.

xx