Head stand

The head stand is a pose that is an inversion posture of standing head up. The technique is used in different settings, like yoga, breakdancing and beginner gymnastics.

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In Yoga

The head stand is called Sirsasana or Sirshasana in Hatha yoga. Although some believe the act of a headstand can increase memory due to "increasing" blood flow to the brain, the act actually pools blood in the head due to gravity greatly increasing the blood pressure to over 150/110. The increased blood pressure is due to the fact the body is designed to be upright and has no mechanism for pumping out blood from the head during a headstand. The increased blood pressure in the head can be damaging to weaker blood vessels, such as those in the eye, which may rupture. To this point there has been no legitimate research on the effects of regularly practicing headstands, but it does seem to be advantageous to core muscles as they can be trained in a fashion they aren't used to.

In Breakdance

Breakdancing features a number of moves that feature balancing on one's forehead. Headstands can lead into a headspin or act as a stand alone freeze move. Different from the yoga style, headstands ideally culminate with taking the hands off the floor and entirely supporting oneself with the head.

In Gymnastics

The headstand, although not an "official skill" is used in gymnastics as a precursor to many skills such as the handstand, headspring, etc. A gymnastics headstand can be done in any way; head only, head plus forearms, or head plus hands. Although it is often entered via a press, it can also be jumped into, although this is extremely dangerous. To have perfect technique, you should get both your hands and your head in a triangle shape, then kick up and point the toes.

External links

Media related to head stands at Wikimedia Commons