[I]Originally Posted by InnerAthlete
In order to learn the basic poses, their actions and alignments, in order to develop a foundation there, one really needs to study the art and that study simply must involve a well trained teacher.[/I]
Yes…Ditto.
To oak333:
With respect…I was surprised to see the
photo of a man in Sirsasana on the website homepage
you recommended as “very well qualified” from Toronto.
Is this photo supposed to be a ‘good’ representation of headstand?
Or are they trying to illustrate common mistakes in the asana…?
If he was my student, (the man in the photo) I would change
the position of the head immediately as it looks as if his [I]entire forehead [/I]is
on the floor (extending the neck) taking the weight, rather than the crown (top) of the head.
As the 4/5th cervical vertebrae have the greatest range for flexion and extension…
one needs to be extremely careful not to make this mistake.
This imbalanced position can lead to neck injury
by placing stressful compression on the cervical intervertebral disks…
From [I]Light on Yoga [/I]by BKS Iyengar, page 186:
“In Sirsasana the correct position should be mastered, as a
faulty posture in this asana will lead to pains in the head, neck and back.”
Also his back is very arched. (again, I’m discussing the photo)
One should lengthen up as in Tadasana–up-side-down.
Their should be a small circle of energy felt in the center of the crown of the head while balancing.
Even Swami Vishnu (founder of The Sivananda School), cautioned one to [I]not[/I] place the parietal part
of the head (frontal, near the forehead) on the floor during this asana.
“If the portion nearer to the forehead is used, the spine will suffer a curvature…”
[I]The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga[/I], page 91.
[I]Posted by oak333
In my opinion, these yoga instructors from Toronto are very well qualified.
They started their yoga training in India, Himalayas, from the age of 10.
http://yogagta.com/ [/I]
Perhaps you may wish to suggest (since you know them and posted their site link for us all to visit)
that they articulate their homepage a bit more effectively.
They may indeed be wonderful teachers…just not discerning web-designers, as “a picture tells a thousand words.”
A new student–someone like yalgaar (who started this thread)–can learn by your linked photo: what [I]not[/I] to do in headstand.
From yalgaar post: For an example, here is a list of some of advanced poses I found online, what should one be able to do easily and to what length duration/degree before one can attempt those: Headstand Pose ? Salamba Sirsasana
See [I]Plate 190 of BKS Iyengar demonstrating a ‘good’ Sirsasana from his aforementioned classic text.[/I]
Namaste,
Nancy