Invert With Ease

Invert With Ease

BALANCE

INVERT WITH EASE

Feeling good upside down begins before our feet ever leave the floor. It comes from knowing that we have prepared the body well enough to make choices once gravity changes the conversation. In today’s video, Matt helps us invert with ease by exploring the relationship between Forearm Stand and Sirsasana, with particular attention to something worth respecting: how much weight we place into the head and neck. Through shoulder activation, supported entries, L shapes, and tuck variations, we can build the strength and awareness to decide how much load feels appropriate rather than simply accepting whatever the posture gives us. There is no requirement to make an inversion look a particular way for it to be valuable. Instead, we can develop the mechanics that allow strength and comfort to coexist, creating an inversion practice that supports how we actually want to feel.

chromatic yoga 15 hour immersion

FEEL GOOD

Feel Good!

  • Move with greater ease, efficiency, and confidence

  • Understand the anatomy and biomechanics behind the movements you practice

  • Use technique to create more freedom instead of forcing flexibility

  • Build strength and stability where your body needs it

  • Improve mobility and range of motion through intelligent movement

  • Recognize the difference between productive challenge and unnecessary strain

  • Better understand the sensations, restrictions, and patterns you experience in your body

  • Refine your alignment based on function, not simply what a pose is supposed to look like

  • Use precise, actionable techniques that you can immediately apply to your practice

  • Develop greater body awareness and proprioception

  • Move out of habitual patterns and discover new possibilities in your body

  • Leave your practice feeling stronger, freer, more capable, and more at home in your body

FOREARM STAND

Headstand offers a larger base of support and may therefore make balancing feel more accessible than Forearm Stand, but protecting the neck remains paramount. Matt suggests beginning with Forearm Stand when we intend to explore movement between the two postures. Here, the head stays lifted as we actively push the shoulders towards the ears, strengthening the muscles that help us press the ground away. One leg can reach upward while the other remains at the wall, giving us an opportunity to repeat the shoulder action without immediately demanding a freestanding balance. Eventually, both legs may leave the wall, but the objective remains the same: keep pushing and create space between the head and floor. Training this strength first gives us something incredibly useful when we transition towards Headstand. Instead of surrendering our weight to the head, we arrive with the capacity to determine how much support we actually need.

WATCH THE VIDEO

INVERT WITH EASE: EXPLORE HEADSTAND & FOREARM STAND

SWITCH BACK & FORTH

Once significant weight settles into the head, pressing back towards Forearm Stand becomes considerably more demanding. Reversing the journey gives us more control. Matt begins with one foot elevated on supportive blocks, cushions, or bolsters, making the entry more accessible while allowing us to establish the push through the forearms and shoulders first. From there, we can gradually release some of that effort and negotiate how much weight moves into the head. To invert with ease becomes less about eliminating effort and more about having options within it. Matt also emphasizes safety on the descent. If blocks are used, the opposite foot should come down first or the legs should straddle wide to avoid landing on them. Foam blocks, cushions, or bolsters may provide a more forgiving setup than cork. The drill becomes a conversation between support, strength, control, and sensation.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

"L" & TUCK VARIATIONS

There is another familiar hurdle waiting for us upside down: the tendency to arch the back. Matt reminds us that whether we are practising Handstand, Headstand, or Forearm Stand, we are working towards moving away from this arch. An L shape offers a clever solution. Keeping one leg lowered helps draw the spine back towards the ground, making it easier to organize the torso without simply sending the body into the wall. Another option is placing both feet lightly against the wall, bending the knees, and gradually reducing contact until the feet are barely grazing it. In Headstand, Matt also explores a tuck, ultimately drawing the knees towards the chest. These shapes change the distribution of our mass, helping us investigate balance rather than using an exaggerated backbend to find the wall and mistaking that support for stability.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

CHOOSE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GRAVITY

Perhaps feeling good in an inversion is not about making it effortless. It is about developing enough awareness to choose where the effort goes. Forearm Stand strengthens our ability to push. Headstand lets us explore how much of that push we want to retain. L shapes and tuck variations help reorganize the spine, while walls and props give us environments where balance can be investigated with greater support. Together, these tools allow us to invert with ease because we are no longer approaching the posture with only one possible outcome. This reflects an important part of the Chromatic Yoga process: learn an action, experience its effect, and then decide how it serves you. When technique creates more choices, we can listen more carefully to sensation and adjust accordingly. Feeling good becomes something we actively participate in creating, even when the practice turns completely upside down.

Continue exploring practices designed around how you want to feel in Matt’s Feel Good online immersion where intelligent biomechanics and purposeful movement help you build a practice that feels as good as it functions.

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Balance Immersion

lotus pose online yoga classes

ONLINE ANATOMY COURSE

  • Accessible, exciting, and easy to learn
  • Anatomy and biomechanics for yoga
  • Appropriate for both teachers and students
  • Learn joint alignment vs pose alignment
  • Demystify yoga poses and transitions
  • Release aches and pains
  • Learn how to avoid common injuries
  • Caters to all levels with modifications and props
  • 20 hours Continued Education Credits with Yoga Alliance
  • 20 hours toward Chromatic Yoga Certification and 300 Hour
  • Lifetime access

Continue Learning

Invert With Ease

Invert With Ease

Invert With EaseBALANCEINVERT WITH EASE Feeling good upside down begins before our feet ever leave the floor. It comes from knowing that we have prepared the body well enough to make choices once gravity changes the conversation. In today’s video, Matt helps us invert...

read more
Overcome Handstand Hurdles

Overcome Handstand Hurdles

Overcome Handstand HurdlesSTRENGTHOVERCOME HANDSTAND HURDLES Getting upside down is often harder than staying there. Matt teaches us that once we confidently arrive in Handstand, the effort can actually become quieter. The real work lies in the entry, where strength,...

read more
The Core Of Your Arm Balances

The Core Of Your Arm Balances

The Core Of Your Arm Balancesspinal flexionTHE CORE OF YOUR ARM BALANCES Arm balances may appear to be about what is happening in the hands and shoulders, but some of their most important mechanics are taking shape around the spine. When we explore the core of your...

read more
Heart Opening Hints

Heart Opening Hints

Heart Opening HintsbackbendHEART OPENING HINTS What if one backbend could quietly teach us how to approach another? This is where Chromatic Yoga becomes particularly interesting. Instead of treating each posture as its own isolated challenge, we can recognize...

read more
Flying Pigeon Patterning

Flying Pigeon Patterning

Flying Pigeon Patterningarm balanceFLYING PIGEON PATTERNING Flying Pigeon isn't created by strength alone. In today's video, Matt walks us through the sequence of actions that organize the body before the balance even begins. From the initial relationship between the...

read more
Hip Health Masterclass

Hip Health Masterclass

Hip Health MasterclassmobilityHIP HEALTH MASTERCLASS Strong hips don't simply happen because we spend more time stretching them. They develop through a conversation between mobility and muscular control, where each action teaches the body how to move with greater...

read more

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When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Stable Sirsasana

Stable Sirsasana

HEADSTAND

STABLE SIRSASANA

Creating a stable Sirsasana is less about the final pose and more about the mechanics that lead us there. From weight transfer and spinal alignment to hamstring flexibility and shoulder engagement, each layer matters. Unlike handstand, headstand alignment is technically simpler because it doesn’t require as much shoulder mobility, yet it carries the added responsibility of neck stability. While some of us may benefit from straightening the natural curve of the neck, others may find this causes compression. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s a safe, exploratory approach. Matt teaches that aligning the ears with the shoulders while pressing the head slightly back is a good place to explore the set up of a stable vertical line. But if this causes discomfort, shifting the gaze forward and preserving the curve may be more appropriate.  For those of us with neck sensitivity, forearm stand becomes a solid alternative. Whatever our path, Sirsasana begins with a strong, secure structure.

chromatic yoga 15 hour immersion

ALIGNED VINYASA

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  • 10 Chromatic Yoga practices with founder Matt Giordano
  • Full length 75 minute classes
  • 10 Peak Postures: The Most Essential Poses of the Vinyasa Practice
  • Meticulously Crafted Experiences to Enhance Your Postural Practice
  • Non-dogmatic, Anatomy informed Alignment
  • The Perfect Blend of Knowledge and Practice
  • A Heavy Emphasis on Technique for the Poses Everyone Expects You to Know but No One Teaches
  • 12 Continuing Education hours with Yoga Alliance
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  • Step-by-Step instruction for increased accessibility
  • Sweat, Breath, Strengthen, Stretch and Feel Amazing!

START WITH THIS PUSH DRILL

Before even lifting the legs, we begin with a foundational strength drill in Dolphin pose. Matt walks us through a push-pull sequence: shoulders move over the elbows, head gently touches toward the ground, then we push the floor away to lift the head. This controlled action activates the serratus anterior, helping to stabilize the shoulder girdle without overgripping. To prevent serratus dominance, we also engage the rhomboids, drawing the shoulder blades slightly together to balance the muscular effort. This combination of opposition is what helps build a stable Sirsasana from the base up. If mobility or flexibility are limiting factors, Matt suggests placing the feet on yoga blocks to reduce the range of motion and enhance proprioception. This drill gives us not only the strength we need, but the motor control and joint awareness that headstand demands.

WATCH THE VIDEO

STABLE SIRSASANA: EXPLORE THE MECHANICS THAT MAKE IT WORK

GET INTO HALF TUCK POSITION

From a grounded base, we now work toward the half tuck, an essential milestone in building up to a stable Sirsasana. With thumbs pointed up and behind the head, we create a physical reference for subtle head movement. As the head presses back, the thumbs guide proprioception and create alignment through the cervical spine. One knee hugs in toward the chest to eliminate hamstring tension, allowing the body to shift upward with more ease. A block under the grounded foot offers additional lift, making this transition more accessible. This phase is all about exploring how the weight shifts into our upper body while safely managing load through the head and shoulders. If the grounded leg gets light, it’s a cue that we may be ready for full tuck. Still, Matt reminds us: safety first. Back toward a wall or placing bolsters down to soften a potential fall.  Above all, know that choosing not to progress is just as skillful as choosing to move on.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

SQUEEZE IN TO GO UP

No matter how we enter Sirsasana (one leg at a time or both together), the concept of squeezing in creates internal support. If both legs rise simultaneously, we press the legs firmly into each other. If one leg leads, we squeeze the inner thighs as if they were already touching. This isometric contraction does more than bring the legs together—it helps stabilize the pelvic center and reduces unnecessary sway in the lower back. These subtle engagements prevent us from “leaking” energy and instead keep the body centered and collected. The transition into full inversion becomes a slow, controlled climb rather than a leap. This method doesn’t just get us into the pose, it trains the body to remain steady once there. Instead of rushing to the final shape, this slow build is where we gain true control, and ultimately, a much more stable Sirsasana.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP

The temptation to kick or jump into headstand is common, but Matt encourages us to resist that urge. Why? Because every skipped step delays the strength and awareness needed to support the whole. Instead, we bring it all together: the push from the Dolphin-like position, the positioning of the neck, the isometric inner thigh engagement, and the head-to-hand relationship we’ve trained. With blocks removed, we rely on hip flexor strength and hamstring mobility to pull the legs in close. Slowly, they lift into the tuck, then into vertical, and finally into stillness. There’s magic in that moment: lightness rising from stability. Stable Sirsasana isn’t a show of force, it’s the result of thoughtful sequencing, patience, and care. When the foundation is sound, the structure above feels effortless. And when we train our body to rise with awareness, the pose becomes more than just a balance, it becomes the culmination of our highest potential.

You can continue to build strength and stability from the ground up in Matt's Aligned Vinyasa Immersion.

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Aligned Vinyasa Immersion

lotus pose online yoga classes

ONLINE ANATOMY COURSE

  • Accessible, exciting, and easy to learn
  • Anatomy and biomechanics for yoga
  • Appropriate for both teachers and students
  • Learn joint alignment vs pose alignment
  • Demystify yoga poses and transitions
  • Release aches and pains
  • Learn how to avoid common injuries
  • Caters to all levels with modifications and props
  • 20 hours Continued Education Credits with Yoga Alliance
  • 20 hours toward Chromatic Yoga Certification and 300 Hour
  • Lifetime access

Continue Learning

Invert With Ease

Invert With Ease

Invert With EaseBALANCEINVERT WITH EASE Feeling good upside down begins before our feet ever leave the floor. It comes from knowing that we have prepared the body well enough to make choices once gravity changes the conversation. In today’s video, Matt helps us invert...

read more
Overcome Handstand Hurdles

Overcome Handstand Hurdles

Overcome Handstand HurdlesSTRENGTHOVERCOME HANDSTAND HURDLES Getting upside down is often harder than staying there. Matt teaches us that once we confidently arrive in Handstand, the effort can actually become quieter. The real work lies in the entry, where strength,...

read more
The Core Of Your Arm Balances

The Core Of Your Arm Balances

The Core Of Your Arm Balancesspinal flexionTHE CORE OF YOUR ARM BALANCES Arm balances may appear to be about what is happening in the hands and shoulders, but some of their most important mechanics are taking shape around the spine. When we explore the core of your...

read more
Heart Opening Hints

Heart Opening Hints

Heart Opening HintsbackbendHEART OPENING HINTS What if one backbend could quietly teach us how to approach another? This is where Chromatic Yoga becomes particularly interesting. Instead of treating each posture as its own isolated challenge, we can recognize...

read more
Flying Pigeon Patterning

Flying Pigeon Patterning

Flying Pigeon Patterningarm balanceFLYING PIGEON PATTERNING Flying Pigeon isn't created by strength alone. In today's video, Matt walks us through the sequence of actions that organize the body before the balance even begins. From the initial relationship between the...

read more
Hip Health Masterclass

Hip Health Masterclass

Hip Health MasterclassmobilityHIP HEALTH MASTERCLASS Strong hips don't simply happen because we spend more time stretching them. They develop through a conversation between mobility and muscular control, where each action teaches the body how to move with greater...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Inversion Drills

Inversion Drills

Conquer Fear Through Technique

SIRSASANA

INVERSION DRILLS

Are you the type of person who avoids inversions altogether, or do you eagerly await the option in your yoga classes? 

Matt infuses Chromatic yoga with the philosophies of ancient Tantric yoga to help you acquire a more in-depth understanding of your own thought processes, decision-making, and patterns. One of the ways you can more closely connect to the reason for either a fear (resistance) or an attachment (attraction) regarding inversions is through the conditioning (samskaras) you have about your ability to achieve inversions. This is why the Chromatic approach is always systematic—you’re encouraged to take incremental steps towards your desired actions and new patterning. Utilizing the inversion drills from today’s video is a step towards understanding your relationship with fear and learning about how technique can quiet your resistance towards them.

chromatic yoga 15 hour immersion

CHROMATIC YOGA

OCTOBER 2023  15Hr. Immersion

  • 12 Chromatic Yoga practices with founder Matt Giordano
  • Full-spectrum immersion covering all posture categories
  • Improve your body awareness and advance your practice
  • Technique, biomechanics, and alignment at the forefront
  • Life-enhancing and inspirational Chromatic philosophy woven through each class
  • 15 Continuing Education hours with Yoga Alliance
  • 15 Accredited Hours with the Chromatic School of Yoga
  • Step-by-step instruction for increased accessibility
  • Improve strength, balance, flexibility, and proprioception
  • Appropriate variations and modifications for all levels

[cl_product_price id="213492"]

MORE INFORMATION

 

IS FEAR WORKING FOR YOU OR AGAINST YOU?

Feling fear about inversions or even inversion drills doesn’t mean that something is wrong with you. You’re not required to change your feelings about them just to work them into your asana practice. That's not what understanding your relationship to fear means. Fear may be what protects you. You may have an injury or condition that may amplify if you don’t use your good judgment and stay away from inversions. In the full class, Matt discusses how fear is a kind of protective mechanism. It can help you to sort through whether or not the fear is valid. The thing is, it’s up to you to decide if working beyond it will create positive transformation, like confidence and strength, or if it might be more damaging. It’s quite alright to fear something and make a decision not to engage in that particular thing.

THE 5 KLESHAS

How does this relate to the Yoga Sutras? In Tantra of the Yoga Sutras, author Alan Finger states the following:

“The five kleshas are what cause the mind to become engrossed in the belief patterns that create mental disequilibrium and psychological distress.”

Here are the 5 kleshas:

  1. Avidya: Ignorance
  2. Asmita: Ego
  3. Raga: Attachment
  4. Dvesha: Aversion
  5. Abhinivesha: Fear of Death

Finger, Alan. Tantra of the Yoga Sutras. Pg. 42 (Yoga Sutra 2.3)

In this particular class, Matt points to raga and dvesha in relation to inversions and inversion drills. Raga here means that you are keen to practice inversions because, for example, they are familiar, or you already feel confident practicing them. Dvesha, being the opposite, may come from your fear or lack of confidence in your ability.

WATCH THE VIDEO

INVERSION DRILLS: CONQUER THE FEAR THROUGH TECHNIQUE

HEADSTAND DRILLS

Once you look at inversions through the lens of raga and dvesha, Matt explains that there are 2 next steps to follow:

  1. Become aware of what you avoid and attach to.
  2. Practice taking action in the direction of what is appropriate for you.

In headstands, there may already be aspects you are comfortable with. If it’s appropriate for you to move forward, Matt offers techniques that will strengthen your confidence.

First, he makes a connection to Handstand by pointing out that whether you are practicing on your head or your hands, the same principle applies: lean and resist. You lean forward to go upright, but then you must resist to prevent yourself from falling. There are muscle engagements that will help you to find your balance. In the headstand inversion drills, pressing your head back into your hands while pressing your fists and forearms into the ground will allow your neck muscles to become your brakes.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

HANDSTAND DRILLS

In handstands, one of the prominent activations comes from the forearms; this is done by gripping the ground. As in the inversion drills for Headstand, you can make use of other props to find better access to "lean and resist." Keep in mind that it’s not all about strength. Hamstring flexibility supports your ability to go upright. In these inversion drills, Matt makes great use of blocks and a chair as a way to minimize the amount of hamstring flexibility that is required.  

These tools play a role in the incremental steps he’s talking about. The props are used as a way to mitigate fear. You also become deeply immersed in technique, which creates a rise in ability and confidence. In the video, you’ll see the attention placed on things like the articulation of your feet, your pelvis, and even your distance from the wall. These are important specifics that will transform your experience.

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

LISTEN TO THE FEAR

Fear has a loud voice. What you do with it will determine your path. That voice can push you away from something magical that’s waiting for you, or it can provide you with better connection to your own discernment. If the message is to take action, to conquer that fear, then reverse engineer your steps. In your yoga practice, lock into the techniques that quiet the voice of fear and strengthen your ability. If your focus and awareness are placed on those actions rather than the fear, you’ve already conquered it. The better choice may be to not engage, and this is also a powerful option. Either way, you are more confident in your decision-making and your ability to select what’s right for you. Take action to find the right path by registering for Matt’s 15-Hour Chromatic Yoga Immersion.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See the Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Videos Extracted From: Chromatic Yoga 15-Hour Immersion

lotus pose online yoga classes

ONLINE ANATOMY COURSE

  • Accessible, exciting, and easy to learn
  • Anatomy and biomechanics for yoga
  • Appropriate for both teachers and students
  • Learn joint alignment vs pose alignment
  • Demystify yoga poses and transitions
  • Release aches and pains
  • Learn how to avoid common injuries
  • Caters to all levels with modifications and props
  • 20 hours Continued Education Credits with Yoga Alliance
  • 20 hours toward Chromatic Yoga Certification and 300 Hour
  • Lifetime access

Continue Learning

Invert With Ease

Invert With Ease

Invert With EaseBALANCEINVERT WITH EASE Feeling good upside down begins before our feet ever leave the floor. It comes from knowing that we have prepared the body well enough to make choices once gravity changes the conversation. In today’s video, Matt helps us invert...

read more
Overcome Handstand Hurdles

Overcome Handstand Hurdles

Overcome Handstand HurdlesSTRENGTHOVERCOME HANDSTAND HURDLES Getting upside down is often harder than staying there. Matt teaches us that once we confidently arrive in Handstand, the effort can actually become quieter. The real work lies in the entry, where strength,...

read more
The Core Of Your Arm Balances

The Core Of Your Arm Balances

The Core Of Your Arm Balancesspinal flexionTHE CORE OF YOUR ARM BALANCES Arm balances may appear to be about what is happening in the hands and shoulders, but some of their most important mechanics are taking shape around the spine. When we explore the core of your...

read more
Heart Opening Hints

Heart Opening Hints

Heart Opening HintsbackbendHEART OPENING HINTS What if one backbend could quietly teach us how to approach another? This is where Chromatic Yoga becomes particularly interesting. Instead of treating each posture as its own isolated challenge, we can recognize...

read more
Flying Pigeon Patterning

Flying Pigeon Patterning

Flying Pigeon Patterningarm balanceFLYING PIGEON PATTERNING Flying Pigeon isn't created by strength alone. In today's video, Matt walks us through the sequence of actions that organize the body before the balance even begins. From the initial relationship between the...

read more
Hip Health Masterclass

Hip Health Masterclass

Hip Health MasterclassmobilityHIP HEALTH MASTERCLASS Strong hips don't simply happen because we spend more time stretching them. They develop through a conversation between mobility and muscular control, where each action teaches the body how to move with greater...

read more

THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Neck Alignment

Neck Alignment

Techniques to Find More Ease in Headstand

sirsasana

NECK ALIGNMENT FOR INVERSIONS

Yoga postures typically start “from the feet up.” The same is true when it comes to inversions—it’s just flipped upside down. The positioning of the head and neck sets the foundation, so finding balance can be quite challenging.  

Inversions can be scary stuff, and there’s plenty of legitimate fear to go around. With inversions, the neck becomes “the feet” of the posture, and neck alignment will directly inform your experience. Proper alignment, along with the technique of “pressing your head back,” will strengthen your neck muscles and provide you with the stability required for this posture. In today’s video, Matt breaks down how this technique will provide you with confidence and help you overcome your fears in Headstand.

online classes for anatomy of arm balances

ALIGNMENT

JUNE 2023 Immersion

  • 12 Hatha-style practices
  • Transformative and informative experience
  • Alignment and techniques for the most common asana postures
  • Step-by-step, easy-to-follow instruction
  • Improve strength, balance, flexibility, and proprioception
  • Accessible and empowering modifications
  • Appropriate variations a modifications for all levels

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MORE INFORMATION

PRESS YOUR HEAD BACK

The fear of going upside down and placing weight on your neck can be enough to put you off of the posture all together, but the technique of pressing your head back can restore your faith in your ability to execute Headstand with assurance. One of the best ways to practice this technique is upright. Before you consider the strength, consider the neck alignment. Pulling your skull up and back will bring your head more in line with your spinal column and pelvis. Matt explains that this will place your cervical spine into a more concave shape, rather than the common convex shape that occurs due to a frequently forward carriage of the head. At the beginning of the video, you’ll see that the next step is to press your head into your thumbs. These steps are important to explore before you place any weight on your head in inversions.  

WATCH THE VIDEO

NECK ALIGNMENT: TECHNIQUES TO FIND MORE EASE IN HEADSTAND

HEADSTAND PREPARATION

Once you feel more comfortable with the neck alignment cues, moving on to the next step in Headstand preparation means exploring those cues in Dolphin Pose. What also needs to be discussed here are the options you have in terms of the amount of weight you opt to place on your head.  

At the initial stages of the setup, creating protraction and elevation in the shoulders will help you find more length in the back of your neck and also assist in keeping your head off of the ground. This will make the shift towards taking the back of your head away from your elbows and closer to your hands much easier. The key step, however, is the plantar flexion of your feet in order to make this shift. Next, pressing your head into your hands (more specifically your thumbs) will assist in strengthening your neck muscles.

200 Hour Online Teacher Training Certification

200 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET CERTIFIED & DEEPEN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

  • Deepen your yoga practice
  • Build confidence speaking in front of groups in person and online
  • Learn foundational class structures and templates
  • Learn techniques for a wide range of yoga postures
  • Get certified and highly qualified to teach yoga
  • Yoga Alliance Globally Recognized Certification Program

HEADSTAND WITH BLOCKS

You now know that pointing your toes will assist in stacking the pelvis over the shoulders, but hamstring flexibility is also required. Gaining the appropriate amount of hamstring flexibility will not happen overnight. This is where elevating your feet on blocks is extremely helpful. Using blocks creates a shorter distance for you to create the stacking you need in order to lift your legs. If you’re not ready to take flight in this way, then practice the stacking by moving back and forth between plantar flexion and dorsiflexion at the ankle joint. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of where your body needs to be in space.  

300 hour teacher training online

300 HOUR ONLINE TEACHER TRAINING

GET 500 HOUR CERTIFIED AS A MASTER TEACHER

Master your skill set as a teacher through refined techniques, anatomy, biomechanics, sequencing, philosophy, meditation techniques, theming, yoga business, and much more!

  • Get 500 hour certified
  • Learn anatomy, biomechanics, asana techniques
  • Expand your teaching skills
  • Masterful sequencing and verbal delivery
  • Learn meditation and breathwork techniques
  • Transformative tools: theming, dharma talks, satsang

UP AGAINST THE WALL

Not knowing where your body is in space is a reason you might choose to practice up against a wall, and this is a great decision, especially when you want to send your legs up in the air.  

You may, however, feel like you are up against a figurative wall when trying to "crack the code" for Headstands. It is possible to start depending on the wall for security, which is why implementing the technique of pressing your head into your hands can completely transform your experience. Once you do that, you can feel everything else fall into place: The action encourages the bottom ribs to knit back, which can then send the pelvis over the shoulders. The beauty of using the wall is that you have time to more deeply understand the cues while it acts as your personal spotter.

Register for Matt’s Alignment Immersion to learn all of the cues that help you to safely practice Headstand.

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Alignment Immersion

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