This is a photo of me in Switzerland a few days ago doing Headstand. I know a Yoga teacher shouldn’t say this, but I’ve never really liked headstand. But I do it nearly every day. Why? Because I know it’s good for me! To balance the bodies many systems it is necessary to do a wide range of poses, whether we like them or not. A balanced body resists illness and diseases, of the body and of the mind.
On the other hand, I’ve seen students (and teachers) that favour a really strong dynamic Yoga practice that have started to have side effects, from minor things like acne to more serious behavioural changes. According to Yogic principles, everything in the universe is made up of 5 subtle elements: the earth element which is grounding, the water element which brings flow; the fire element which energizes & stimulates, the air element that expands & opens, and the element translated as space or ‘ether’, that connects us to the universal spirit. So, doing too many ‘air’ poses like handstands can turn you into an air-head!
I am a very earthed person, and I would happily do restorative poses all the time as they feel familiar and largely involve being ‘grounded’ on the floor! So I realise that I need to bring in some of the other types of poses to balance myself. This is why I can’t just practice the poses I like, but I do feel the benefit of a more balanced practice and I hope you will too.
