Headstands during Pregnancy?

Whenever I was unsure about the poses that could be done during pregnancy, one of the first resources I consulted was Yoga a Gem for Women by Geeta Iyengar.

Geeta is inarguably the foremost authority on yoga for women living today. In this awesome addition to any yogini's bookshelf, she discusses at length the poses that are appropriate for all stages of a woman's life cycle.

Sure enough, Salamba Sirsasana(Headstand) is listed as one of the poses can be done during pregnancy.

In class however, I am accustomed to both hearing and delivering the caution, that for the practitioner to do this pose while pregnant, then well before being pregnant:
1) They must have had a very well established practice.
2) Headstands should have already been a regular part of that practice.

The major concerns are about:
1) Stability in the posture
2) The load placed on the abdomen while lifting the legs, if the pose is misaligned.

Indeed, all the practitioners I know to have had a positive experience of this pose during pregnancy, were all fairly experienced. By fairly experienced I mean that prior to pregnancy, they could maintain headstand and its variations, for more than ten minutes. This is with no issues during or after the pose.

So Headstand in and of itself is not contraindicated for normal pregnancies. In the yogic tradition however, the individual case must be considered to determine what is best for mother and child.

The questions that then arise include whether the practitioner is experienced enough to do this pose at such a delicate time. Another is whether the conditions of the pregnancy, such as whether it is high risk or with complications, warrant that the pose be avoided.

This is where we meet the limitations of this blog post. It cannot answer those questions for you. What will follow are the observations of a fairly experienced practitioner with a normal pregnancy. It will therefore be left up to you, your teacher and doctor to decide what is suitable for your particular case.

So I prepared for the pose as always: Starting from all fours I interlocked the fingers, kept the elbows shoulder width apart and put the crown on the head on the floor. Then I lifted the knees away from the floor, straightened the legs and walked in. Just before I kicked up I observed the following instructions:

1) I pressed the outer wrists into the floor and lift the trapezius muscles away from the ear
2) I took the shoulder blades in towards the chest and lifted them towards the waist.
3) (most importantly) I lifted the lower back spine up towards the hips to extend the spine in the region of the abdomen.

These three actions got rid of the rounding in the lower back and shoulder area, which is commonly seen when going up in this pose. In addition they allowed the spine to remain straight and the abdominal muscles passive.

Pressing the arms into the floor and lifting the head away from the floor helped to facilitate these actions and strengthen the arms as well. I had to ensure however, that when the head was placed back on the floor, all the above actions were maintained.

Doing the pose in this manner, during pregnancy or not, has advantages that are manifold.
1. It creates space in the body and therefore eases breathing
2. It prevents discomfort in the shoulder and neck area
3. It takes the weight off the head.
4. It reduces the involvement of the abdomen since the work is redistributed over the rest of the body especially in the arms, the shoulders and the hamstrings.

Doing this pose against the wall during pregnancy is what I would insist upon, especially if the above instructions are very unfamiliar. In addition taking the legs up with bent legs appears to work the abdomen less.

I remember headstands relieved a lot of those first trimester headaches for me, and being an inversion it both calmed and invigorated at the same time. What I loved most about the posture however, was that in the midst of all the hormonal changes, it quickly brought my emotions on an even keel.

I gladly practiced headstand every evening up to thirty seven (37) weeks of pregnancy. In fact, both it and Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero's Pose) were the ones I craved the most. I found the headstand variations with Baddhokonasana (Bounded Angle) legs and Upavishta Konasana (Upward Angle) legs particularly beneficial, as they created an opening in the pelvic region that brought immeasurable relief.

This summarizes my experience of headstand during pregnancy. It is sincerely hoped that the information provided here can help you decide whether this pose is for you and your pregnancy you as well.