Training guide
The supported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana) balances you on your forearms and the crown of your head, with your hands clasped around it. It is often taught as "all the weight in the arms", but in one lab study experienced practitioners still carried about a third of their weight through the head, and the way they went up changed the load: slow entries were gentler, and kicking up one leg at a time loaded the head fastest.
So this guide teaches a slow entry at a wall, short holds and a controlled way down, and it is clear about who should skip going upside down: glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees, high blood pressure that isn't controlled, and neck problems. Don't start learning it in pregnancy.
It covers the technique, how much load your neck takes, the ladder from dolphin pose, the tripod headstand, how a headstand differs from a handstand, and a headstand progression to follow. No study has timed learning one, so our timeline is an estimate.
Set your forearms down, clasp your hands, put the crown of your head on the floor with the back of your head against your palms, walk your hips over your shoulders, and lift your legs slowly. Press down through your forearms the whole time.
Source 1
In one lab study of 45 experienced practitioners, the head carried about a third of body weight on average while holding the pose, and up to about half at peaks. Beginners weren't measured; we'd expect at least as much, but that is our inference.
In the same study, kicking up one leg at a time loaded the head fastest, and every extra second spent going up cut the average load on the head by about 4%. Lift with both legs together, slowly.
Source 2
It featured in 10 of 76 published reports of harm from yoga in one review, mostly eye problems, and in 15 of 84 in another, where over half the people already had a health problem that raised their risk.
Skip it with glaucoma unless your eye specialist agrees (eye pressure doubled in headstand), while high blood pressure isn't controlled, with neck problems, and while you're new to yoga. Don't start learning it in pregnancy; if you already practise, ask your midwife.
Start with about 10 seconds and add 5 to 10 seconds at a time. Eye pressure stays raised for as long as you're upside down, and no study shows longer holds help, so 30 to 60 seconds is plenty (our editorial view).
In 75 yoga practitioners, the pressure inside the eye doubled in headstand and stayed raised after 5 minutes. Head-down yoga poses raised it within a minute in people with and without glaucoma, and hanging fully upside down took it from about 16 to 34 millimetres of mercury (mmHg). An ophthalmologist answering for the American Academy of Ophthalmology advises against inversions with glaucoma, and UK sight charities say to ask your hospital eye doctor. Our headstand move page also says it isn't for people with other eye conditions, so ask your eye team first.
Going upside down raises blood pressure and the heart's workload: hanging upside down took it from 110/77 to 130/90 mmHg in one study. US health advice lists severe high blood pressure among the conditions that may need changes to yoga. Our high blood pressure guide gives the readings at which to hold off.
Inversion raised the heart's workload even in healthy men, and the authors suggest it may not suit people with heart disease.
Source 13
The head and neck carry about a third of your weight, and some ways of getting up bend the neck forward under that load. Case reports describe spinal cord compression in the neck attributed to headstand, and torn neck arteries after yoga in a man with neck arthritis. Skip it with neck pain, neck arthritis, a past neck injury or surgery, or a history of stroke or a torn artery in the neck.
With osteoporosis, ankylosing spondylitis or rheumatoid arthritis affecting the neck, leave out poses that load the neck, as our guides to those conditions advise.
US health advice is to avoid extreme practices such as headstands while you're new to yoga, and to learn with a qualified teacher.
Source 9
The NHS advises avoiding activities with a risk of falling in pregnancy, so don't start learning headstands, as our handstand guide and pregnancy guide say. If you already practise them, ask your midwife (our suggestion).
Source 8
Yoga Journal advises skipping the pose on days like these.
Source 1
No study shows harm. Some blood flows back into the pelvis during a period in about 90% of women whatever they do, so going upside down isn't a special risk, as our guide to exercise for women explains.
Source 16
From Yoga Journal's supported headstand guide and our headstand page. Lifting slowly with the legs together follows the lab study of entry techniques; the wall position is our editorial suggestion.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Supported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)
In a lab study of 45 experienced practitioners, mostly women, the head carried on average about 28% of body weight going up, 34% while holding and 28% coming down, with peaks of about 40 to 50%. This is one study, read in full through the thesis behind it; beginners and the tripod headstand weren't measured, so applying the figures to them is our inference.
Going up with straight legs together loaded the head more slowly than going up one leg at a time, and tended to load it less: more than three-quarters of the straight-leg group stayed under 300 newtons going up, while more than half of the one-leg group went over. Every extra second spent going up cut the average load on the head by about 4%, whatever the method.
Tucked-knee and one-leg entries bent the neck forward at the moment of peak load, while straight-leg entries kept it near its natural curve. The differences were moderate and not statistically significant in this small study.
Source 2
Years of practice didn't predict a lighter load on the head, and the head swayed more from side to side than forwards and back.
Source 2
Work down the list, moving on when you can hold the current step steadily; the walk-in and the tuck at the wall are done in dolphin pose and on the headstand page's set-up.
3D demoDownward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoForearm plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoDolphin pose (Ardha Pincha Mayurasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoHollow body holdIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSupported headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)Expert · A wall
3D demoChild's Pose (Balasana)Beginner · No equipment3 holds of 5 breaths in downward dog, and a steady forearm plank of 20 to 45 seconds (our editorial starting point).
3 or 4 holds of 30 to 45 seconds (our editorial starting point). Yoga Journal suggests dolphin as the preparation for the headstand; move on at a steady 45 seconds, our headstand page's starting point.
Source 1
From dolphin, walk your feet in until your hips are over your shoulders, with your head down but not loaded, as Yoga Journal describes: 3 to 5 holds of 5 breaths (our editorial starting point).
Source 1
Knees into your chest and both feet off the floor together, slowly, the tucked variation Yoga Journal suggests practising: 3 to 5 holds of 5 to 10 seconds (our editorial starting point). Move on at a steady 10 seconds, up and down with control.
Source 1
Straighten your legs with your heels near the wall: 3 holds of 10 to 20 seconds, adding 5 to 10 seconds at a time, as Yoga Journal suggests building up.
Source 1
Only once you can go up and come down slowly with control at the wall: 3 holds of 10 to 30 seconds (our editorial starting point).
Yoga Journal suggests a wall or a doorway for support, and our headstand page sets up with a wall close behind you. Don't kick up against it or lean into an arch: stack your hips over your shoulders and let your heels just touch it.
Source 1
Only once you can lift and lower slowly with control. A teacher can show you how to tuck and roll out if you overbalance; no study has compared ways of coming out of a fall (our editorial notes).
Yoga Journal suggests starting with about 10 seconds and adding 5 to 10 seconds at a time, and says a solid 20 seconds beats a long hold that loses its shape.
Source 1
Eye pressure doubled in headstand and stayed raised for as long as people held it, and no study shows a benefit of long holds. So our editorial view is that 30 to 60 seconds is plenty.
Source 6
In the tripod headstand (Sirsasana II), your hands go flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart, making a triangle with your head, and many people go up by resting their knees on their elbows. No study has measured the load on the head in it or compared it with the forearm version, so treat it with the same cautions (our editorial notes).
A handstand loads your wrists and is balanced mostly through your hands; a headstand loads your head and neck as well as your shoulders, on a wider, steadier base. With a sensitive neck, the handstand or the forearm stand avoids the head load; with sore wrists, the headstand or the forearm stand avoids the wrist load.
Source 2
Both raise eye pressure (measured in headstand) and share the same list of people who should skip them, with neck problems added for headstands. Our handstand guide covers the other route.
Source 6
One-leg entries loaded the head fastest and tended to load it most. Walk your feet in, tuck your knees and lift slowly with both legs together.
Source 2
Every extra second spent going up cut the average load on the head by about 4%. Take your time.
Source 2
The head already carries about a third of your weight. Press your forearms down, keep your shoulders away from your ears, and come down if your head or neck feels pressure.
The base collapses. Keep your elbows a little narrower than your shoulders, as in dolphin.
Source 1
Tucked entries bent the neck forward at peak load, and the head tended to sway sideways. Keep your neck in its natural curve and hold still.
Source 2
The wall becomes a crutch and your lower back arches. Stack your hips over your shoulders and let your heels just touch the wall (our suggestion).
Eye pressure stays raised while you're upside down, and long holds have no proven benefit. Keep holds short and build gradually.
Source 6
Most published harms happened in people who already had a health problem, and eye problems were the commonest. Check the list of who should skip it first.
US emergency departments treated an estimated 29,590 yoga injuries from 2001 to 2014. The trunk, which in this study included the shoulder, was the area most often hurt (47%), and sprains and strains were the commonest injury (45%). The rate was highest in people aged 65 and over. The study didn't record which poses were involved.
Source 17
In a review of 76 published cases of harm from yoga, headstand was the posture most often cited (10 cases, 8 of them eye problems). In a 2026 review of 84 cases, it was named in 15 (18%), and 54% of the people had a health problem beforehand that raised their risk. Case reports can't give a risk per practice.
Eye pressure doubled in headstand in 75 practitioners and stayed raised while they held it; in other head-down poses it rose within a minute and settled within 2 minutes of coming out. Hanging upside down raised blood pressure, and inversion raised the heart's workload in healthy men.
Reports describe a blocked retinal vein after headstand in a man with high blood pressure, spinal cord compression in the neck attributed to headstand, and torn neck arteries with spinal cord compression after yoga in a man with neck arthritis.
The order from dolphin to the tuck at a wall comes from teaching practice. We found no study comparing ways of learning a headstand.
Source 1
No study has timed it, so this is our editorial estimate: several weeks to a few months to a steady headstand at the wall if you can already hold dolphin for 45 seconds, and longer to balance away from the wall. Practise 2 to 4 times a week, early in a session while you're fresh (our editorial starting point).
The headstand progression follows the ladder above; the handstand progression is the inversion route that keeps your head off the floor.
Build toward a supported headstand: downward dog, forearm plank, dolphin, the walk-in, tucks at a wall, then the headstand with a slow way down.
15 minAdvanced6 movesA wallBuild toward a handstand: wrist prep, dolphin pose, pike push-ups, crow, the wall handstand and freestanding holds.
25 minAdvanced8 movesA wallThese take the weight on your forearms or hands instead of your head; legs up the wall is a gentle option with your head on the floor.
If you feel pressure in your head or neck.
Source 1
A face that has dropped on one side, an arm you can't lift, or slurred or garbled speech; also sudden weakness or numbness down one side, blurred vision or loss of sight, dizziness or a severe headache, even if they pass.
Source 19
Possible signs of sudden glaucoma: intense eye pain, a red eye, rainbow-coloured circles around lights, blurred vision, a headache, or feeling or being sick.
Source 20
Clumsy hands, or numbness, pins and needles or weakness that is getting worse in one or both arms; problems with balance or walking since your neck pain started; or neck pain with a severe headache. See your GP for blurred vision, ringing in your ears or dizziness with neck pain.
Source 21
If neck pain or stiffness doesn't go away after a few weeks.
Source 22
In 45 experienced practitioners, the head carried about a third of body weight on average and up to about half at peaks. Press through your forearms, but don't expect the head load to vanish.
One-leg and hopping entries loaded the head fastest and tended to load it most; slow entries with the legs together were gentler.
Source 2
No study shows a benefit of long holds, and eye pressure stays doubled while you're upside down. A solid short hold beats a long one that sags.
We found no trials of these claims. What has been measured is that eye pressure doubles and blood pressure rises when you're upside down. Do headstands because you want the skill; the strength and balance work counts as exercise.
Untested, and some entries bend the neck forward under load. Our neck guides use chin tucks and gentle isometric holds instead.
Source 2
No study shows harm. Blood flows back into the pelvis during a period in about 90% of women anyway.
Source 16
It loads it: experienced practitioners carried about a third of their weight through the head, and up to about half at times. Most published injuries were in people who already had a health problem, and some ways of getting up bend the neck forward under load. Skip it with neck pain, neck arthritis or a past neck injury.
As little as you can: press down through your forearms. But even experienced practitioners carried about a third of their weight on the head in a lab study, so come down at once if your head or neck feels pressure.
Start with about 10 seconds and add 5 to 10 seconds at a time; a steady 20 seconds beats a long hold that sags. Eye pressure stays doubled while you're upside down and no study shows longer holds help, so we suggest 30 to 60 seconds is plenty.
Learn at the wall first, and move away only once you can go up and come down slowly with control. Have a teacher show you how to tuck and roll out safely if you overbalance.
No study has compared them. In the tripod headstand your hands are flat, making a triangle with your head; many people find the forearm version steadier, and both load the neck. This guide teaches the forearm version.
They load different places: a handstand your wrists, a headstand your neck as well as your shoulders. With a sensitive neck, choose the handstand route; with sore wrists, the forearm stand avoids both. Our handstand guide covers that route.
It builds shoulder and trunk strength and balance, like other inversions. Claims about blood flow to the brain, hair, skin or the face haven't been tested in any trial we found; what has been measured is a doubling of eye pressure.
Not while your blood pressure isn't controlled, and with glaucoma only if your eye specialist agrees. Eye pressure doubled in headstand, and an ophthalmologist answering for the American Academy of Ophthalmology advises against inversions. Going upside down also raised blood pressure in healthy people.
Pregnancy isn't the time to learn one: the NHS advises avoiding activities with a risk of falling. If you already practise headstands, ask your midwife. Our pregnancy yoga page has gentler poses.
No study shows harm. Some blood flows back into the pelvis during a period in about 90% of women anyway, so do what feels right.
Serious problems are very rare, and come from case reports: a blocked retinal vein after headstand in a man with high blood pressure, and torn neck arteries after yoga in a man with neck arthritis. Call 999 (911 in the US) for a drooping face, arm weakness, speech problems or sudden loss of vision.
No study has timed it. Our estimate is several weeks to a few months from a steady 45-second dolphin, and longer to balance away from the wall.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
