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| Finally got my feet off the floor! 2 breaths with my legs bent but it's a start. Just thought I'd let you all know. Strangely I've not been practicing hard or for very long for various reasons in the last couple of weeks.
I went to a class recently where I was told that my headstand base with my head slightly off the floor was a difficult variation and part of the 7 headstands of the intermediate series. I'm not too sure this is right. Anyone out there have an opinion on this?
Ian |
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| Good job Ian.
No, the 7 headstands in intermediate all have your head on the ground but your arm positions change.
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| "Headstand" with the head off the floor is part of the finishing practice; sirsasana followed by ardha sirsasana, then back up to sirsasana then lift the head off.
I'm usually so exhausted by then that I can only lift off a fraction of a millimetre.
The 7 headstands of second series all have the head planted on the ground. With some of those arm positions I imagine it would be nigh on impossible to lift it off! |
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Location: London, England | Hi Ian,
Horray! That's the difficut bit, the rest is easy. It's often during the rest periods where the body has time to re-build the nervous system, that you find you have been 're-educated' without knowing.
Looks like everyone has a different opinion on whether the head is on the floor in the headstand sequence of the second series-I have never come across it being lifted-but these things change-I understand the lift to handstand from navasana is almost unheard of now, but twenty years ago it was notorious 
Take care
Nick |
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| Why do you think it's not common to go to handstand from navasana anymore? My teacher will throw that in sometimes. I enjoy it since I don't often get a chance to work on handstands. Plus, I feel like it "stretches out" my core after it's been contracting and working hard. |
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| The institute in Mysore is a research institute. Some things have changed since the way it was originally taught.
They took handstands out of primary, but you lift up your body between each set of navasana with crossed shins/ankles. (think lolasana) I wish I knew why they did, but that's what happened.
If you learned the series a long time ago, you probably teach it that way it was taught to you. I'm sure old timers still do the handstands and guruji and Sharath probably let them do it that way. But it is no longer encouraged.
When they did the world tour, I saw a few guys doing it and they didn't yell at them.
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| It does seem kind of extreme to have handstand in a "primary" series. Then again, I suppose Ashtanga is extreme.
As for how you plant your head in headstand, anatomy plays a huge part. Heads are simply shaped differently. Just make sure you're not endangering your spine. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
 
| When you look at old photos of the classes "back in the day" you can see why the practice was a bit extreme. They are full of teenage boys who probably had enough energy and (yes!) competitive spirit to keep their guru busy upping the ante of difficulty all the time! Handstands would have been a simple warm up for those young pups!  |
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| Good point. That is one of the things I have been writing so long: That ashtanga style yoga exercises are meant only for:
some kind of mixture of
young, athletic, energetic, more time-dedicated, etc.
And, it is NOT meant for
stressed out, corporate worker who is more dedicated to office work, who has injuries, who is very old, and who is dong yoga for therepueutic reasons, etc.
Thanks
tourist - 2007-10-21 12:35 PM
When you look at old photos of the classes "back in the day" you can see why the practice was a bit extreme. They are full of teenage boys who probably had enough energy and (yes! ) competitive spirit to keep their guru busy upping the ante of difficulty all the time! Handstands would have been a simple warm up for those young pups! |
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| kulkarnn - 2007-10-21 5:46 PM
Good point. That is one of the things I have been writing so long: That ashtanga style yoga exercises are meant only for:
some kind of mixture of
young, athletic, energetic, more time-dedicated, etc.
And, it is NOT meant for
stressed out, corporate worker who is more dedicated to office work, who has injuries, who is very old, and who is dong yoga for therepueutic reasons, etc.
Still, can't ashtanga be used in a more flowing, slower type of practice for others than? Or even follow the outline of the practice and make it your own to a point??
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| tanawana - 2007-10-22 10:40 AM
Still, can't ashtanga be used in a more flowing, slower type of practice for others than? Or even follow the outline of the practice and make it your own to a point??
Once you make alterations, it ceases to be Ashtanga Vinyasa. Many people have, as you suggested, taken aspects of the practice and adapted them into something that more people could realistically handle. Hence why we now have classes called "flow this" and "vinyasa that". |
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| Yeah, good point.
Just being older myself I still do the practice, but take it at a pace depending on the day and how I feel. Also coming off a bad illness I have to go easy. I still say I do Ashtanga, but in a more controlled slower way. I will even leave alot of vinyasas out also to help, if I'm feelin' kinda weak. I still love it the way I do it though |
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| tanawana - 2007-10-23 9:30 AM
I still love it the way I do it though
And isn't that what truly matters?  |
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Headstand
