Preparing for Headstand: What You Really Need

I always teach headstand as part of a yoga class. Even if you’re very fit and strong, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to do a ‘good’ headstand on your first day. All the other postures — and the discipline of how you stand, how you use your legs — support you in building a steady and safe headstand.

So what’s needed for headstand? You might think it’s balance, but that’s rarely the main issue. Perhaps the most important element is strength.

You may have heard that you don’t need to be strong to go up into headstand. That’s not quite true. You don’t need extreme strength, but you do need good core strength to lift up with control and stay there. I do occasionally see students who are very flexible and can easily kick up against the wall — but it’s neither safe nor steady. Without strength, the pose lacks control. I’m not opposed to using the wall, but eventually you need to develop the core strength to lift your legs and tilt your pelvis with control.

You also need shoulder strength. Although it’s called ‘headstand’, in reality it’s more like an ‘elbow stand’. Most of the weight is supported by the elbows, which requires strong, stable shoulders. This is even more true in tripod headstand.

For core strength, navasana (boat pose) and bird dog come to mind straight away, but honestly, all standing poses help build it. Standing poses are the foundation of all postures.

For the shoulders — down dog. Do you remember the first time you practised it? It hardly felt like a 'resting pose', did it? It works deeply into the shoulders and arms, and you’re already partially upside down.

Sun salutations that include down dog are particularly helpful. And if you practise Ashtanga sun salutations, they’re especially effective, as chaturanga requires a lot of strength in the arms and shoulders.

What about flexibility? Yes — it matters. Hamstrings in particular, but also the lower back and shoulders. If your hamstrings are open and your lower back isn’t tight, the transition into headstand becomes much smoother. Paschimottanasana, other forward folds, and down dog will all help.

So again, I’d really recommend sun salutations. If you don’t have time to practise headstand within a full session, at least do a few rounds of sun salutations before attempting it.

I’ve made a short video with headstand preparation asanas — you can sign up below.