Are you contemplating a regular practice of yoga as a way to get healthy and fit? If you are, then specific asanas help specifically to work certain muscle groups, in particular, and provide certain health benefits, making it a holistic approach to getting fit. This article looks at the headstand.
Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/health/fitness/articles/20736.aspx#ixzz1MAEOxf64
Importance of the Yoga Headstand
For those who are hooked to a daily asana practice and have been practicing regularly, a practice without a headstand is incomplete. Headstand is the fulcrum on which yoga practice is based. For the new-comer, however, a headstand seems an unattainable goal or an exciting possibility, halfway between acrobatics and exercise. The truth is, headstands are not that difficult to learn and of course, we all agree that practice makes perfect. With time, it will become second nature. In the meantime, we must fully experience the act of standing on the head and the benefits of this wonderful asana.
Benefits of Yoga Headstand
It is not without reason that headstand is dubbed king of asanas. It is a crowning glory of sorts when you finish off with a headstand. It exhilarates the practitioner because of the blood rush to the brain. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. BKS Iyengar, one of the world’s foremost authorities on yoga, has expounded on this asana. According to him, this asana helps ease problems related to digestion such as sluggish bowels, it aligns the spine and gives elasticity to it. As the old Chinese saying goes, the more healthy and flexible the spine, the longer you will live. Besides, a healthy digestive system means overall health is optimized.
In my personal experience, I have noticed that each time I do headstand, I feel like I am getting a little better at it because something seems to adjust itself in my body to help me get the most out of my practice. But that aside, BKS Iyengar continues his treatise on headstand by discussing it’s benefits in depth. This asana has many variations. There is a basic one, taught when you are new to headstand and then there are more advanced versions taught in logical progression. Headstand gives strength to the neck and shoulders. It gives power to the wrists and hands. It greatly improves blood circulation, gets the heart pumping and displaces organs ever so slightly so that they bathe in the new blood flow as a result.
It tones the abdominal muscles, works out your balance and hence massages the nervous system. A few minutes on your head will do you a world of good. However, please exercise discretion when you do this. Never practice on a full stomach, and don’t attempt a headstand if your blood pressure tends to be high, if you have vertigo or if you are pregnant. There are bound to be other health conditions which may not permit the practice of this asana, so talking to a doctor and an experienced yoga teacher before taking on this practice is important, if in doubt. Moreover, if you feel dizzy after headstand, it means you did something incorrectly.
On a final note, most yoga books (and yoga teachers) will caution that if you are a beginner to headstand, then a blanket should be placed under the head for support, before hoisting yourself into the final position. However, while a blanket may be necessary for the beginner or the relatively inexperienced, you could well be a beginner to headstand even after years of practice. It depends on your approach to it. What you take to it is what you will get from it. So go into headstand with awareness and let it lead you to health, wellness and over time, even fitness.
Benefits of Yoga Headstand
It is not without reason that headstand is dubbed king of asanas. It is a crowning glory of sorts when you finish off with a headstand. It exhilarates the practitioner because of the blood rush to the brain. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. BKS Iyengar, one of the world’s foremost authorities on yoga, has expounded on this asana. According to him, this asana helps ease problems related to digestion such as sluggish bowels, it aligns the spine and gives elasticity to it. As the old Chinese saying goes, the more healthy and flexible the spine, the longer you will live. Besides, a healthy digestive system means overall health is optimized.
In my personal experience, I have noticed that each time I do headstand, I feel like I am getting a little better at it because something seems to adjust itself in my body to help me get the most out of my practice. But that aside, BKS Iyengar continues his treatise on headstand by discussing it’s benefits in depth. This asana has many variations. There is a basic one, taught when you are new to headstand and then there are more advanced versions taught in logical progression. Headstand gives strength to the neck and shoulders. It gives power to the wrists and hands. It greatly improves blood circulation, gets the heart pumping and displaces organs ever so slightly so that they bathe in the new blood flow as a result.
It tones the abdominal muscles, works out your balance and hence massages the nervous system. A few minutes on your head will do you a world of good. However, please exercise discretion when you do this. Never practice on a full stomach, and don’t attempt a headstand if your blood pressure tends to be high, if you have vertigo or if you are pregnant. There are bound to be other health conditions which may not permit the practice of this asana, so talking to a doctor and an experienced yoga teacher before taking on this practice is important, if in doubt. Moreover, if you feel dizzy after headstand, it means you did something incorrectly.
On a final note, most yoga books (and yoga teachers) will caution that if you are a beginner to headstand, then a blanket should be placed under the head for support, before hoisting yourself into the final position. However, while a blanket may be necessary for the beginner or the relatively inexperienced, you could well be a beginner to headstand even after years of practice. It depends on your approach to it. What you take to it is what you will get from it. So go into headstand with awareness and let it lead you to health, wellness and over time, even fitness.
Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/health/fitness/articles/20736.aspx#ixzz1MAEOxf64
No comments:
Post a Comment