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.

Ignite My Fire

Inversions.... I absolutely love them.


Once you find your tipping point and stay effortless in an inversion, there's just something so endearing yet quirky, in looking at the world the other way up.

The miles you put into staying in an effortless inversion don't come free. You wouldn't believe the number of times I've fallen down from Sirsasana straight into Savasana, when I first started my yoga practice!  The countless (and frustrating) times you fall down, is just part of the journey of awakening, to what is happening within the body and the mind.


This feeling of awakening, is what is called "tapas" (or heat). This is not necessarily a physical heat but more of a metaphorical burning.  


"When people first experience tapas, there is often a sense of discomfort, a desire to squirm away from the situation because it is so authentic; it is as if a border of life is being eaten away by fire.  But if we stick with the observational practice, if we do not run away when we reach the juncture where tapas first arises.... there is a residue of clarity and relief that is discernable in the breath and is actually felt in the body.  Our very own body, which is immediately available to us, becomes a laboratory of consciousness, a field of exploration into the truth of our own existence, so that, our body becomes a temple for open awareness" - Richard Freeman, in The Mirror of Yoga.

Do you remember your first tapas experience?