Shirshasana
Salamba Shirshasana, often shortened to Shirshasana, or Yoga Headstand is an inverted asana in modern yoga as exercise; it was described as both an asana and a mudra in classical hatha yoga, under different names.
Etymology and origins
The name Salamba Shirshasana comes from the Sanskrit words सालम्ब Sālamba meaning "supported", शीर्ष, Śīrṣa meaning "head", and आसन, Āsana meaning "posture" or "seat".The name Śīrṣāsana is relatively recent; the pose itself is much older, but was known by other names. Like other inversions, it was practised as Viparita Karani, described as a mudra in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other classical texts on haṭha yoga. Hemacandra's 11th century Yogaśāstra names it Duryodhanāsana or Kapālīkarana, while the 18th century Joga Pradīpikā calls it Kapālī āsana, head posture; it is number 17 of the set of 84 asanas described and illustrated there. However, the 19th century Sritattvanidhi uses the name Śīrṣāsana as well as Kapālāsana. The Malla Purana, a 13th-century manual for wrestlers, names but does not describe 18 asanas including Śīrṣāsana.
Description
In the Supported Headstand, the body is completely inverted, and held upright supported by the forearms and the crown of the head. In his Light on Yoga, B. K. S. Iyengar uses a forearm support, with the fingers interlocked around the head, for the basic posture Śīrṣāsana I and its variations; he demonstrates a Western-style tripod headstand, the palms of the hands on the ground with raised elbows, for Śīrṣāsana II and III; and other supports for further variants. Iyengar names and illustrates ten variants in all, as well as several preparatory and transitional poses.The yoga headstand is nicknamed "king" of all the asanas.
A variety of other asanas can be used to build the upper body strength and balance required for Sirsasana.
Cautions
The pose is advised against in case of high blood pressure, heart palpitations, glaucoma, during menstruation, or hiatal hernia.Sirsasana, alongside Sarvangasana and Padmasana, is one of the asanas most often reported as the cause of an injury.
Variations
Shirshasana permits many variations, including:| Transliteration | English | Image |
| Salamba Shirshasana 2 | Headstand 2 | |
| Salamba Shirshasana 3 | Headstand 3 | |
| Baddha Hasta Shirshasana | Bound Hands Headstand | |
| Baddha Konasana Shirshasana | Bound Angle Pose in Headstand | |
| Dvi Pada Viparita Dandasana | Headstand Backbend | |
| Eka Pada Shirshasana | Single Leg Headstand | |
| Mukta Hasta Shirshasana | Free Hands Headstand | |
| Parivrttaikapada Shirshasana | Single Leg Revolved Headstand | |
| Parshva Shirshasana | Side Headstand | |
| Parshvaikapada Shirshasana | Single Leg Headstand | |
| Upavistha Konasana Shirshasana | Seated Angle Pose in Headstand | |
| Urdhva Padmasana in Shirshasana | Upward Lotus in Headstand |
Mandalasana, Circle pose, is not a single variation but a sequence of movements in Shirshasana in which the legs move in a full circle around the body from one headstand variation to the next.