I did a workshop a couple of weeks ago at the Sivananda centre by my place as I am on their email list. I don't regularly practice their yoga style as I tend to do kundalini yoga but they did offer a one hour workshop on doing headstand and that was one of the few postures in yoga that I have not mastered but want to. The other ones are crow, scorpion, peacock and hand stand.
Half of being able to master the pose is having enough strength and a solid base. The other half is mental. Fortunately the amount of strength required isn't too intense. If you can do dolphin pose, then you should have enough strength to master this.
When I was first doing it, it just made me laugh. The posture is just funny to be in, at least it was for me. It took a couple of tries and I was able to do it. One of the instructors was lightly holding my legs.
I was glad that I went to this because head stand is definitely the type of posture that requires having an experienced teacher showing you the proper mechanics, otherwise it could be dangerous.
I tried it a few days later and got myself into half head stand. I was okay with that and didn't want to push myself. I tried again today outside at my parent's house and did a few times just being in half head stand. They said it's good to just stay comfortable in half head stand because from there, getting the legs up is easy. I really wanted to feel this feeling of being upside down in this position so I did allow myself the chance to relax in it.
Eventually I decided to lift my legs up and I was able to hold it for a minute or 2. I am not coming down totally with control. A couple of times I had partial control. That's key too; to be able to come down with the same grace and control as when you go up. I'm really pleased I was able to do it on my own today. It's a sign to me that I'm becoming a yogini. I mean, I always was but this is one of the major poses to be able to do and it really isn't hard. It just requires some patience
I think I will continue to practice this and really get comfortable with it. It's truly an experience to support yourself on your elbows and have your feet suspended. It's different then say lying on your back and lifting your feet up.
