Awareness

How it Feels
Kiana:
At first it seemed a little uncomfortable. It was hard to surrender and breathe through it when I was tense and scared. After a couple more times it became easier and not so scary. After it was actually pretty calming and became a way for me to alleviate my stress and problems.
Yolanda:
In the beginning I felt like I was putting too much pressure on my hands, especially my pinky fingers. Then I discovered that by tucking your pinky into the middles of your clasped hands, a lot of the pressure is alleviated and my weight transferred to my forearms, which is where it should be. When I finally got up to the actual headstand, my head sort of hurt because I'm not used to standing on my head and I felt like too much blood was rushing into it. I found that by deep breathing and relaxing a bit, I was able to calm down and the uncomfortable feeling went away and I felt like I could stay there all day!

To do it Right
Kiana:
To do this posture right is very tricky. It is not one that I could fool around with. If I did it incorrectly it could cause me some serious damage that can result in major long term problems. For me to do this posture correctly I needed to stay aware of my neck and spine and be very careful not to rush anything. I also needed to keep my muscles engaged and stay strong.
Yolanda:
For me, the most difficult part was straightening my spine and keeping everything aligned. I tend to curve my spine a lot and I realized that I was definitely not doing it right. I had to make a conscious effort to push my spine flat and tuck everything instead of just bending everywhere. I had my sister help me make sure I was completely straight and tell me where I had to adjust. You just have to make sure to engage every muscle in this pose, keeping your legs straight, your shoulders strong and your breathing steady.