Practice Point #97 - A Balanced Practice

I received a question from Peter Chatz from Australia. Their question is...

With the lockdown, it has been hard to practice a sequence. Is it ok to do only sirsasana & its variations as a practice and a short setubanda to finish Early in the morning?

I have to put this question back to you.

How do you feel when you do only Sisrasana (headstand) followed by a brief setu bandha?

How you feel after this practice will be an indication if it is suitable for you or not. Keep in mind that practice has an accumulative effect.

I have a few suggestions to help you make it a little more balanced. While a headstand is great for building concentration and focus and also soothing an active mind, it is a stimulating pose and if every day you are doing a stimulating pose and only a brief cooling pose, over time I believe you might feel out of balance.

I would encourage you to do a shoulder stand or setubanda for at least as long as you do the sirsasana (headstand) to get more balance in your practice.

Of course, if you have more time, I would include some arm postures and dog poses before the headstand or a few standing poses, and after the setubanda try and include a few sitting postures to get a more all-rounded practice.