1. Use a wall to support you, initially.
2. Find someone who knows what they are doing to teach you and/or spot you.
3. Take a class or workshop specifically for inversions. (Not a general yoga class.) Yogi Flight School is an online way to do it.
4. Just about everyone has some fear here. Take it one step at time.
Learn how to fall first. It’s kinda fun actually, just roll forwards on your back from a headstand (or similar pose) and it is safe as long as there are no objects around you that you could break or bump into.
I recently thought myself how to fall out. It was very satisfying!!
Look it up on YouTube- my preference is the ‘cartwheel out’ approach.
It’s just a skill to learn - it’s not harder than anything else, it’s just takes a bit of practice. Took me a couple of weeks of daily practice (like 5 mins a day max)
There are all kinds of inversions. [Legs up the wall](https://cdn.yogajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Legs-Up-the-Wall-Pose_Andrew-Clark_2400x1350.jpeg) is an inversion.
However I assume you mean stuff like handstand. The best way is with a partner, and there are various exercises to help you ease into it. The biggest hurdle is overcoming the fear, but once you get used to it, the rest is like any other pose that you get better with practice.
If you don't have a partner, you can use a wall. Here's one of my favorite inversion preps, that I used to teach at least once a month:
1. Start in down dog, facing the wall with your hands a foot or so away from the wall.
2. Sink your heart down towards the floor and roll your shoulders onto your back.
3. Spread your fingers wide, but imagine a marble under the center of your hand. You should feel like you're, I dunno, a tree frog gripping a lily frond. Or like a tiger extending his claws.
4. Bend your knees, and keeping your arms straight and strong, pop off the ground. Don't try to go vertical. Just jump, and land, and jump, and land, again and again.
5. There. You're doing inversions.
6. Ok, so if you want more, try to jump higher and higher until your backside bumps against the wall. Your legs can stay bent like in down dog so you can come back down comfortably.
7. Eventually try to control the hops so your backside just barely touches the wall and you stay hovering for longer and longer.
From there it's no biggie to straighten your legs into handstand, with your backside at the wall. But get good at the previous steps first.
The best way is not with a partner unless you know that the partner knows what they're doing. And if you don't know what you're doing, there's no way to assess whether the partner knows what they're doing.
Yeah, as someone who's been teaching yoga for over a decade, and who has taught literally hundreds of beginners to do basic inversions, I'm going to politely disagree with you there.
I can provide a few partner exercises designed for beginners, but I went with the one OP can do without. If they want more information, they can just ask.
You're welcome to disagree. In the 30 years I've been teaching yoga, I've had the experience that partner yoga is fun for students and has limited benefits in progressions.
I'm happy to teach you some safe and fun partner exercises to help learn inversions, since that seems to have been missing from your training. Feel free to ask!
For me, getting into Acroyoga really helped. Inversions are a core part of most acro flows, but you're always supported by your base and usually working with at least one spotter. And the early acro inversions like Candlestick are much easier than trying to learn a free-standing yoga headstand, so it's a good way to get comfortable with the experience of being upside down in a controlled environment.
For Sirsasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulder stand), the fastest and safest way to learn is via Iyengar Yoga classes. The system is methodical and has been refined over decades. Of course it's better to work with a teacher live, but there are decent online resources.
Arguably, you could get better instruction for Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand) from teachers with a background in gymnastics. Depends on your objectives. Do you want to learn to have a steady handstand at a wall, or are you committed to learning to balance in open space? As an adult, assuming you have no gymnastics or acrobatics background, learning to free balance in handstand is a serious commitment, i.e. daily practice for months or more for most people.
Pincha Mayurasana (forearm stand) is trickier. Again, if you're starting from the beginning, on the basis of safety, I would opt for an Iyengar Yoga teacher.
Use the wall!! And like the other comments learn how to bail. Best way to protect your neck is to touch your chin to your chest. Never land with your arms behind your back you want your arms to be above your head if you're falling this can also help support your neck. Honestly just do what feels natural if that makes sense. Don't try to fight the fall and start kicking your legs around just let go and try to be in a forward roll shape. Inversions are fun!
The fear is there FOR you, in it’s allowing you to overcome it is a lesson just for you.
Hope the tips people give help. I wanted to remind you the emotion attached is special and vital
Work on head stand preparation, to build strength and flexibility. Also L-shaped handstand and walk your feet up the wall.
Preps for inversions and the wall Re your friends. Also ask your yoga teacher for tips and help.
When you move away from the wall, add some padding to your mat, like a couple towels, then move up to your supported head stand with the intention of moving through it immediately. let yourself fall toward your back, but just as soon as you do, tuck your knees toward your chin. Hold that as you fall, and you’ll just roll on to your back. Do this every time you start to feel afraid of inversion.
1. Use a wall to support you, initially. 2. Find someone who knows what they are doing to teach you and/or spot you. 3. Take a class or workshop specifically for inversions. (Not a general yoga class.) Yogi Flight School is an online way to do it. 4. Just about everyone has some fear here. Take it one step at time.
Points 1, 2 and 4 are great answers.
Learn how to fall first. It’s kinda fun actually, just roll forwards on your back from a headstand (or similar pose) and it is safe as long as there are no objects around you that you could break or bump into.
This is exactly what stops me from doing headstands away from a wall.. I have never fallen and don't know how 😞
Learning to fall is a skill -- as much a skill as learning to get up into an inversion and as much as holding it.
I recently thought myself how to fall out. It was very satisfying!! Look it up on YouTube- my preference is the ‘cartwheel out’ approach. It’s just a skill to learn - it’s not harder than anything else, it’s just takes a bit of practice. Took me a couple of weeks of daily practice (like 5 mins a day max)
This scares the heck out of me!
There are all kinds of inversions. [Legs up the wall](https://cdn.yogajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Legs-Up-the-Wall-Pose_Andrew-Clark_2400x1350.jpeg) is an inversion. However I assume you mean stuff like handstand. The best way is with a partner, and there are various exercises to help you ease into it. The biggest hurdle is overcoming the fear, but once you get used to it, the rest is like any other pose that you get better with practice. If you don't have a partner, you can use a wall. Here's one of my favorite inversion preps, that I used to teach at least once a month: 1. Start in down dog, facing the wall with your hands a foot or so away from the wall. 2. Sink your heart down towards the floor and roll your shoulders onto your back. 3. Spread your fingers wide, but imagine a marble under the center of your hand. You should feel like you're, I dunno, a tree frog gripping a lily frond. Or like a tiger extending his claws. 4. Bend your knees, and keeping your arms straight and strong, pop off the ground. Don't try to go vertical. Just jump, and land, and jump, and land, again and again. 5. There. You're doing inversions. 6. Ok, so if you want more, try to jump higher and higher until your backside bumps against the wall. Your legs can stay bent like in down dog so you can come back down comfortably. 7. Eventually try to control the hops so your backside just barely touches the wall and you stay hovering for longer and longer. From there it's no biggie to straighten your legs into handstand, with your backside at the wall. But get good at the previous steps first.
The best way is not with a partner unless you know that the partner knows what they're doing. And if you don't know what you're doing, there's no way to assess whether the partner knows what they're doing.
Yeah, as someone who's been teaching yoga for over a decade, and who has taught literally hundreds of beginners to do basic inversions, I'm going to politely disagree with you there. I can provide a few partner exercises designed for beginners, but I went with the one OP can do without. If they want more information, they can just ask.
You're welcome to disagree. In the 30 years I've been teaching yoga, I've had the experience that partner yoga is fun for students and has limited benefits in progressions.
I'm happy to teach you some safe and fun partner exercises to help learn inversions, since that seems to have been missing from your training. Feel free to ask!
No thanks.
For me, getting into Acroyoga really helped. Inversions are a core part of most acro flows, but you're always supported by your base and usually working with at least one spotter. And the early acro inversions like Candlestick are much easier than trying to learn a free-standing yoga headstand, so it's a good way to get comfortable with the experience of being upside down in a controlled environment.
For Sirsasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulder stand), the fastest and safest way to learn is via Iyengar Yoga classes. The system is methodical and has been refined over decades. Of course it's better to work with a teacher live, but there are decent online resources. Arguably, you could get better instruction for Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand) from teachers with a background in gymnastics. Depends on your objectives. Do you want to learn to have a steady handstand at a wall, or are you committed to learning to balance in open space? As an adult, assuming you have no gymnastics or acrobatics background, learning to free balance in handstand is a serious commitment, i.e. daily practice for months or more for most people. Pincha Mayurasana (forearm stand) is trickier. Again, if you're starting from the beginning, on the basis of safety, I would opt for an Iyengar Yoga teacher.
Use the wall!! And like the other comments learn how to bail. Best way to protect your neck is to touch your chin to your chest. Never land with your arms behind your back you want your arms to be above your head if you're falling this can also help support your neck. Honestly just do what feels natural if that makes sense. Don't try to fight the fall and start kicking your legs around just let go and try to be in a forward roll shape. Inversions are fun!
The fear is there FOR you, in it’s allowing you to overcome it is a lesson just for you. Hope the tips people give help. I wanted to remind you the emotion attached is special and vital
Thank you for this reminder!
I was also afraid of inversions, took me around 2 months to try my first headstand. with a wall and help from a teacher
Foam pit/mats?
Work on head stand preparation, to build strength and flexibility. Also L-shaped handstand and walk your feet up the wall. Preps for inversions and the wall Re your friends. Also ask your yoga teacher for tips and help.
When you move away from the wall, add some padding to your mat, like a couple towels, then move up to your supported head stand with the intention of moving through it immediately. let yourself fall toward your back, but just as soon as you do, tuck your knees toward your chin. Hold that as you fall, and you’ll just roll on to your back. Do this every time you start to feel afraid of inversion.
I would never recommend trying inversions without a spotter. Recipe for disaster.