Supported Headstand
सालम्ब शीर्षासन
Sālamba Śīrṣāsana — an advanced inversion that works the shoulders, abdominals, spinal erectors.
How to do Supported Headstand
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Kneel near a wall, interlace the fingers and place the forearms down with the elbows exactly shoulder-width apart.
Set the crown of the head on the mat, cradled by but not resting in the clasped hands.
Press the forearms down and lift the shoulders strongly so the neck carries almost nothing.
Walk the feet in until the hips stack over the shoulders, then draw the knees to the chest.
Extend the legs upward with control, hold, and come down the same way you went up.
Hold: 30 seconds to 3 minutes, built up over months. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Supported Headstand does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Stacks body weight vertically through the shoulders and trunk, which demands sustained shoulder strength.
- Trains the deep trunk muscles to hold a straight line against gravity in an unfamiliar orientation.
- Loads the upper back isometrically for the whole duration of the hold.
Supported Headstand is one of 20 inversions in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses where the head sits below the heart. The group that needs the most care and the most teaching.
Who should skip Supported Headstand, or change it
- Glaucoma or any raised eye pressure, and uncontrolled high blood pressure — both rule this pose out.
- Neck or cervical spine injury, disc problems, or a history of whiplash or neck surgery.
- Pregnancy — this is not a pose to begin in pregnancy; whether to continue an established headstand practice is a decision for you and your doctor.
- Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions during a period. Treat that as a personal choice, not a medical rule.
- Recent or current ear infection, which upsets balance — and learn headstand with a qualified teacher in the room, never from a page or a video.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Supported Headstand
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeKicking up with a swing so the landing is uncontrolled.
FixLift both knees slowly to the chest first; if you cannot, you are not ready for the legs.
MistakeRibs flaring so the body forms a banana rather than a line.
FixDraw the front ribs in and lengthen the tailbone towards the heels.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Supported Headstand is mapped to the nearest published code — 02175, yoga, Power, 4 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Supported Headstand?
Kneel near a wall, interlace the fingers and place the forearms down with the elbows exactly shoulder-width apart. Set the crown of the head on the mat, cradled by but not resting in the clasped hands. Press the forearms down and lift the shoulders strongly so the neck carries almost nothing. Walk the feet in until the hips stack over the shoulders, then draw the knees to the chest. Extend the legs upward with control, hold, and come down the same way you went up. Hold for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, built up over months.
What does Supported Headstand work?
Primarily the shoulders, abdominals, spinal erectors, with the triceps, upper back, glutes assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: stacks body weight vertically through the shoulders and trunk, which demands sustained shoulder strength.
Who should not do Supported Headstand?
Glaucoma or any raised eye pressure, and uncontrolled high blood pressure — both rule this pose out. Neck or cervical spine injury, disc problems, or a history of whiplash or neck surgery. Pregnancy — this is not a pose to begin in pregnancy; whether to continue an established headstand practice is a decision for you and your doctor. Menstruation: many traditions omit inversions during a period. Treat that as a personal choice, not a medical rule. Recent or current ear infection, which upsets balance — and learn headstand with a qualified teacher in the room, never from a page or a video. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Supported Headstand suitable for beginners?
No. Supported Headstand is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate inversions poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does Supported Headstand burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Supported Headstand sits closest to Compendium code 02175, yoga, Power, at 4 MET — about 147 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More inversions — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.