Or, How To Do Headstand Against a Wall, without ever
- putting your head on the ground or
- kicking up into a bad backbend with your feet on the wall.
I’m sorely regretting my first headstand post, as my intention seems to have been misread. I MEANT that working towards things that scare us or we find challenging/believe to be unachievable, is a great way to build fortitude and change your story about yourself.
I didn’t mean headstand specifically, not necessarily. I saw the exact same effect in a class I taught on Friday when I taught Wild Thing, and people got those awestruck looks on their faces after they managed to do it. Everyone walked out of that class with just a little bit of a strut…
You might want to read the disclaimer and personal experience post over at Anytime Yoga, before we begin here 
A wall can be a useful prop, giving you something to push back against, which will help activate your legs.
What NOT to do: the ole neck and shoulder slump/crunch. I’m using a block to demonstrate this because there’s no way I’d do that to my body with gravity involved!
Get up against a wall, pushing your heels into it & crossing your arms at the elbows.
Clasp your hands…
Push your forearms into the ground – this will activate your core – which we call haste bandha, hand lock, in yoga.
start walking your feet up the wall, keeping that core connection.
Walk your feet up the wall until you are more or less upright: head OFF the ground, uddiyana bandha engaged (that’s the sucking in of the belly you see here) and knees bentish and pushing back against the wall. Arms and shoulders engaged…
Another view – head slightly off the ground, shoulders broad, neck long. No crunching! It’s basically dolphin pose with your legs up a wall.
Then you can lift one leg away from the wall, replace it at the wall, do the other leg. This is a fairly safe way to work towards the strength and control you need for inversion.
Moving from Stability: Understanding the Pelvis in Posture (Online workshop)
Light Up Your Life
Phew, it’s great to hear the original message wasn’t lost, Kathryn!
Love that pose – great strengthening of core and arms! I actually don’t think people misunderstood your point of facing your fears in your original headstand blog (did I start that?? Sorry…), but you just can’t get away from the necessity of being careful with yourself physically in yoga, as well as the mental/emotional stuff. You do that really well, always emphasising to listen to your body, how does it feel, etc. I don’t think your original message was lost. xkathryn