Salamba Sirsasana - The Headstand

King of all the postures, the Headstand is a fabulous pose - there is an effortlessness in it (believe it or not!) and it is easier than it looks. But it can be encounter with fear! This is because perfect point of balance, where you feel weightless, light, is just before the point of falling over backwards! For beginners this is a scary place to be, but as you gain familiarity with it, it will feel secure. The balance should be light, grounded through the arms, sure and steady. There should be no strain.

The arms and upper body need to be strong enough to carry all the weight (there is hardly any weight on your neck as you do this posture),and the abdominals (and moola bandha) need to be strong to lift the legs effortlessly (do not 'jump up').

Headstand should be preceeded by bridge (dwi pada pittam) posture and followed by locust (Salambhasana). (Many thanks to Yoga Journal for help with the step by step)

Watch a short video here

Step by Step

1. Kneel on the floor. Lace your fingers together and set the forearms on the floor, elbows at shoulder width. Hands flat. Roll the upper arms slightly outward, but press the inner wrists firmly into the floor. Set the crown of your head on the floor. Press the your palms into the floor and snuggle the back of your head against the apex of the triangle made by the hands. Curl the toes under.
2. Roll up onto the crown of the head, pressing your energy through into the floor. Keep the shoulders down and the shoulder blades drawn into the back. Roll up through the buttocks so that the thoracic spine becomes more vertical and then, keeping the upper spine vertical, drop the buttocks back down a little to elongate the spine.
3. Pushing into the toes, inhale and lift the knees off the floor and straighten through the back of the legs, pushing the seat bones up into the air. Using your abdominal muscles (and you shouldn't be doing headstand if you don't have strong abs), draw the feet towards the head, bring the whole spine to the vertical.
4. Actively lift through the top thighs, forming an inverted "V." Firm the shoulder blades against your back and lift them toward the tailbone so the front torso stays as long as possible. This should help prevent the weight of the shoulders collapsing onto your neck and head.
5. Exhale and lift your feet away from the floor. Take both feet up at the same time, even if it means bending your knees and hopping lightly off the floor. As the legs (or thighs, if your knees are bent) rise to perpendicular to the floor, firm the tailbone against the back of the pelvis. Turn the upper thighs in slightly, and actively press the heels toward the ceiling (straightening the knees if you bent them to come up). The center of the arches should align over the center of the pelvis, which in turn should align over the crown of the head.
6. Firm the outer arms inward, and soften the fingers. Continue to press the shoulder blades against the back, widen them, and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the weight evenly balanced on the two forearms. It's also essential that your tailbone continues to lift upward toward the heels. Once the backs of the legs are fully lengthened through the heels, maintain that length and press up through the balls of the big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer than the outer.
7. As a beginning practitioner stay for 10 seconds. Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes. Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two, until you feel relatively comfortable in the pose. Again gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5 minutes. Come down with an exhalation, without losing the lift of the shoulder blades, with both feet touching the floor at the same time.

Benefits
The headstand is an inversion and these cleanse and nourish us at deep levels: the brain is flooded with blood flow and nutrients, the mind clears, thinking improves.  Headstand activates the body's master glands - pineal and pituitary - which controls the chemical balance of the entire body. It strengthens the body, and focuses and concentrates the mind - is conducive to meditation.

•Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
•Stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands
•Strengthens the arms, legs, and spine
•Strengthens the lungs
•Tones the abdominal organs
•Improves digestion
•Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
•Therapeutic for asthma, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis

Contraindications - DON'T DO THIS IF YOU HAVE:
•Back injury
•Headache

•Heart condition

•High blood pressure

•Menstruation

•Neck injury

•Low blood pressure: Don't start practice with this pose

•Pregnancy: If you are experienced with this pose, you can continue to practice it late into pregnancy. However, don't take up the practice of Sirsasana after you become pregnant.

•Sirsasana is considered to be an intermediate to advanced pose. Do not perform this pose without sufficient prior experience or unless you have the supervision of an experienced teacher. Some schools of yoga recommend doing Sirsasana before Sarvangasana, others vice versa. The instruction here assumes the former order.