tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post2558448161517543014..comments2023-03-27T11:27:07.759+02:00Comments on A Skeptic's thoughts about climbing, wellness, movements, energy, yoga: The elusive headstandYoginihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-34809055941121952582013-12-14T18:26:13.763+01:002013-12-14T18:26:13.763+01:00Hi Ariane, thanks for checking out my blog. The &q...Hi Ariane, thanks for checking out my blog. The "electrical shocks" are not just from headstand. You get them from the breathing and the stretching of your fascia and and blockage clearing of the nadis. It can be quite scary but as long as they are not persistent (ie. goes away a few hours after your practice), they can be good for you. It takes awhile to differentiate healthy vs. harmful body sensations but I think it's worth it to learn them through yoga. Yoga is mostly damaging for people who ignore warning sensations in the body and push too hard. If you can slow yourself down and really pay attention to what every body part is telling you, it can be a very healing practice. But yes, definitely be on the cautious side for your neck, shoulders, and knees during practice.<br /><br />Good luck with your Ashtanga journey!! It can be very frustrating in the beginning because it's pretty darn hard, but once you have gained some strength and some flexibility, it becomes super addictive! :)Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-89373099711212614542013-12-14T06:01:05.485+01:002013-12-14T06:01:05.485+01:00I recently started to practice headstand at ashtan...I recently started to practice headstand at ashtanga yoga (for one week) and at times in the day, I have those weird electrical shocks in my head and my spine. <br />I suspect it is from headstands as I did'nt practice dolphin pose, my teacher never told me about that!! I will surely do the dolphin until I can hold it for 30 breaths, thanks for the tip. Yoga can be very damaging by the way, I experienced other pain issues before!ArrishannaHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04409224519593090557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-1555550797319250082011-02-25T08:13:49.401+01:002011-02-25T08:13:49.401+01:00Thanks for your suggestion Amanda. Yes it does mak...Thanks for your suggestion Amanda. Yes it does make sense. One of my teachers likes to say "lengthen your neck", which didn't make sense to me at first, but I think the shoulder rotation you mention has the same effect as "neck lengthening".Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-69879280040593526992011-02-25T05:33:30.579+01:002011-02-25T05:33:30.579+01:00Another issue with headstands (that I suffer from)...Another issue with headstands (that I suffer from) is that sometimes a person's anatomy limits the poses you can accomplish. My upper arm is very close to being too short for me to do a headstand without putting nearly all of my weight on my head and neck, which is, of course, completely unsafe. The trick is to make sure I rotate my shoulders from the front to the back, rather than just bringing my arms in from the sides (does that make sense?).Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919406618331269851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-35591246087448716012011-01-17T20:36:55.142+01:002011-01-17T20:36:55.142+01:00Thanks for your kind words Danielle. Headstand *i...Thanks for your kind words Danielle. Headstand *is* really hard. I can get up with no problem now but am still not always careful about the minimal weight on crown of head part and I still get neck issues. There's the whole balancing act too. If you can tuck your legs into your chest then you are very very close! Keep on practicing all is coming for you!Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-79094946910256111702011-01-17T20:11:53.462+01:002011-01-17T20:11:53.462+01:00This is a great post. I've been struggling wit...This is a great post. I've been struggling with headstand for the past 9 months or so, and still don't have the guts to do it without a wall, especially after a few collapses ;) I totally agree with the importance of doing preparatory poses, but like what Loo said, it's HARD! But I'm beginning to see progress...I can now tuck my legs into my chest, unsupported, so that's one step closer to the full pose, hopefully.<br /><br />I've been reading your other posts as well, and really like your writing style.DThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13842558079176315193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-43007448790746516912010-12-02T04:20:22.315+01:002010-12-02T04:20:22.315+01:00Hi 52, thank you for commenting! Loo's and you...Hi 52, thank you for commenting! Loo's and your comments made me realize that I should try to be more comprehensive in my post, in case anyone wants to use this as a sample guide! I'm editing my post to include preparation steps before practicing the headstand. Thanks again!Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-57305518285461232872010-12-02T01:57:50.156+01:002010-12-02T01:57:50.156+01:00Ahh.. This is what I call useful help! Thanks for ...Ahh.. This is what I call useful help! Thanks for writing this. I am the kind of person who needs written instructions. talking to me just confuses me because I'm trying so hard to show off my manners that I forget to understand. This is like a map.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-10221092163437499242010-12-01T04:13:16.806+01:002010-12-01T04:13:16.806+01:00Hi Loo, thanks so much for sharing your experience...Hi Loo, thanks so much for sharing your experience! That's how my teacher taught it too. I guess my ego wanted to achieve the up-side-down part first. Now is probably a good time to tell the ego to *back off* and re-focus on pushing down with the arms and elbows part :)Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-6415763135494923312010-12-01T02:12:51.508+01:002010-12-01T02:12:51.508+01:00I was a neck jammer too until I hurt it. And then ...I was a neck jammer too until I hurt it. And then I went back to the drawing board, not going up, just working on walking my feet in and keeping the weight off my head as I open up the shoulders. Quite frankly, it sucked. Its way more uncomfortable to stay in this partial pose and you have to deal with the ego BUT BUT BUT it worked! It was the only way to stop the habit of putting weight on your head and neck which will eventually hurt you. Just something to consider.Loohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04527656741874519550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-54772735673005878182010-11-29T20:04:36.670+01:002010-11-29T20:04:36.670+01:00I've been wondering about that forever (I thou...I've been wondering about that forever (I thought it was a body control issue, but neck jarring sounds more serious and more likely the teacher's concern). Thanks for solving the mystery for me! I think once you get headstand, you can get up however you want, but in the beginning it probably makes a difference.<br /><br />I need to try to practice less headstands and more arms and shoulders strengthening. This is going to be tough...Yoginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483919150641771008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499398322302495158.post-52141078187080679612010-11-29T18:14:46.432+01:002010-11-29T18:14:46.432+01:00It seems like you've made great progress with ...It seems like you've made great progress with sirsasana. Congratulations! All the teachers I've studied with also discourage kicking; it's because kicking usually translates into a jarring motion on the neck, which is bad for the neck. But some people tell me that their teachers are totally okay with kicking. So, I don't know...<br /><br />Working more on your vinyasas will enable you to gradually build up enough upper body strength to put more weight on your arms/shoulders, and less weight on your neck. <br /><br />Yes, I totally relate to the headstand OCD part. When I first got headstand, I wanted to do it all the time! I think there's something very exhilarating and fascinating about apprehending the world from an upside-down perspective.Nobelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00655577410721103577noreply@blogger.com