Sirshasana, or the headstand, is traditionally associated with yoga and second only to the Lotus or Buddha pose in identifying the entire subject of Hatha yoga in the Western mind. It is not nearly as difficult to do as people imagine, may be learned at any age and, once mastered, is wonderfully relaxing and all-inclusive. However, the student should proceed cautiously at first while learning it, since recklessness or impatience may cause injury.

Method: For best results the headstand should be practiced and learned in four stages, although once you have mastered the technique its execution will be surprisingly smooth and relaxing.

FIRST STAGE: Kneel on a mat, clasp your hands, fingers interlocked, and let both the hands and the forearms rest on the floor with elbows not too wide apart.

SECOND STAGE: Next place your head, about one inch above the forehead, within the triangle thus formed, but be sure it rests on the pad and not on the hands themselves. Cup your hands around your head so that the thumbs support it. Now slowly get up from your knees and stand on your toes. Next try to bring your toes closer in to your head, taking small steps, knees stiff. You have doubtless observed small children standing this way, bent practically in half, bottoms up.

Adults do not assume this pose naturally, but you should continue to try it. Even if you never get beyond this first stage of the headstand, you will derive benefits from it in limberness and improved circulation. However, here is a word of caution: this reverse position is not for persons with either very high or very low blood pressure, weak eye capillaries, chronic nasal catarrh or defective (not merely sluggish) pituitary or thyroid glands.

STAGE THREE: Until you are adept at the yoga headstand, it is wise to practice stage two either in a corner or against a wall, partly as insurance against falling and partly because of the sense of safety and balance you may need simply for reassurance. You may also need the help of another person at your first attempt. If you attempt to raise your legs without help, you may find it easier to raise them both at once, giving yourself a boost as if with a slight jumping motion, knees bent.

STAGE FOUR: Then slowly raise the legs and feet and straighten them, until your entire body is vertical. The wall or corner will prevent your falling over backward. Hold this position for five seconds, then slowly lower the legs, bending the knees for balance, and finally let your feet rest on the floor once more. Get up. Lie down and relax.

Eventually you will hold the position for five minutes or more, once a day. Yogis, of course, retain this pose for thirty minutes, a whole period of meditation.

Therapeutic Value: This asana supplies blood to the brain, clearing the mind and helping concentration and toning the nervous system. It is recommended for developing brainpower in the young and maintaining mental health throughout life. By reversing gravity, it relieves the inevitable heart strain which accompanies normal living, thus prolonging life. The increased blood supply to the brain also improves weak eyesight, faulty hearing, sharpens all senses, cures many neurotic symptoms, improves the sense of balance and banishes insomnia.

It is of great value in keeping the endocrine glands healthy, reducing all tension, fatigue and poor circulation. It is also good for the memory. In short, it is known as the “King of the Asanas,” and is said to bring eternal youth. Again, however, the caution given for stage one must be repeated: it must not be done by persons with abnormally high or low blood pressure or any of the disorders mentioned at stage one — at least, not until they have been cured by other, simpler asanis.

Good luck in learning to perform the yoga headstand!

1.”Part of recovery is the simple pleasure from accomplishing a new milestone. I have not been able to walk upstairs/downstairs going leg over leg since September of 2008. It was such a joy this week to go up the stairs “normally” without pain!!!!” – webbie73

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3.”Had Right THR 3 weeks ago and I’m shocked to say that I feel pretty darned good! I can walk fairly normally unaided around my house. I can play with the dog. I can get up and down the stairs with no pain and relative ease. Just wanted to let anyone know that there really IS light at the end of the tunnel!” – Janet

4.”I had my left hip done 11 months ago and the right one 4 months ago. I don’t even notice them now!” – JGosse

5.”I am exactly three weeks post op and I am off to the store, walking every day, doing house keeping, enjoying my family and friends, and feeling SOOOOO much better than before surgery.” – pt109

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7.”Just went to the Operating Surgeon for 6 week check….no restrictions, just get on with it! I still haven’t got to the 90 degree point, but we’ll get there. OS suggested lots of “yoga” like stretches to get the joint as mobile as we can.” – Kangaroo

8.”I feel great! I should have done it sooner!! Although I’m still in the recovery process I feel awesome!” – Ginny

9.”Completed week 4 today and it’s hard to believe that two weeks ago I was in such terrible shape. Already planning 3rd rim to rim of Grand Canyon for 2010…doc said go for it. (age 70)” – tom w

10.”I was able to drive at 4 weeks after both surgeries and had no problems with braking or accelerating.” – JGosse

11.”Just completed week 5 and the world has suddenly become a place of: driving a car, going out to dinner, shopping, and enjoying life again. Prior to THR life wasn’t a lot of fun and certainly very little pleasure. I now feel alive again…” – tom w

12.”I had THR 8 weeks ago and feel FABULOUS! I didn’t realize how much pain I was tolerating until now! I feel hopeful about my life.” – Ginny

13.”Thanks to my fitness, I breezed through the surgery, setting a record for shortest hospital stay for bilateral THR (2 days), and recovered faster and easier than expected. I have been able to return to everything I want. I have also returned to horseback riding, after a 25 yr hiatus, and now own, love and show a lovely Hanoverian mare in eventing.” – ripanco

14.”I am practically running as I power walk in the morning these days. So great to feel good.” – Laurie

15.”I’m flexing well beyond 90 degrees. I can even almost touch my nose to my knee while stretching!” – Scott

16.”I understand being scared. But, I am 3 mos. post op right total hip replacement and I am pain free!!!!” – mambo

17.”Prior to the surgery I couldn’t even run (ride my bicycle) 40 minutes without my leg being so sore I would

have to use my hands to help lift it. I’m honestly shocked how well the hip is doing. By the time I was done (with the ride) I did 50 miles!” – Scott

18.”Its amazing how fast I’ve been able to graduate from wanting to get back to what I could do before, to wanting to do more than I ever could.” – mdakota

19.”Friday was my 6 week milestone. I must say I am absolutely amazed at how good I feel, not just my lovely new hip, but in general. I see progress every single day, sometimes massive leaps and sometimes the slightest thing, but progress it is!” – Andy-LTHR

20.”I have reached my 12 week milestone where my surgeon said I would have achieved 90% recovery. I am walking up to 3 miles a day with no pain, planning to increase to 5 miles 3 times a week. Back to all day-to-day activities with no limping. Even played a little lawn volleyball with my sons! I stood for a couple of hours at an outdoor concert with no pain. Most of the time I don’t even think about my new hip. It feels completely natural.” – GailW

This theory can also be understood on the basis that if gray hair were not strong enough, then they could never have been transplanted. The main aim behind hair transplantation is to try and move most of the healthy follicles and concentrate them in an area where they can continue to produce more healthy hair. Gray hair are healthy hair and are produced by most of the healthy hair follicles. We all are aware of the fact that hair gets its color from a chemical known as melanin. So, the production of melanin and its quantities is determined by the type of genes in a particular individual.

The fact is that when this melanin production tends to stop completely of even slow down then our hair starts losing its natural color. So if the pigmentation is decreased we get gray hair and if it stops completely we get white hair. There are no specific reasons known yet for the decrease in production of melanin in our body. But most of the reasons points on the fact that it is the biological cycle that usually determines the production of melanin in our body.

Getting a gray hair or even white hair is a process that is associated with the aging of our body. Most of the people start getting gray hair at an age of 50 but it may also begin as early as 20 for some individuals. Most of the people may not be aware of the fact that hair transplant is safe for aged patients or not? We also know that age alone may not stop a person from undergoing hair transplant. A number of physicians have also reported few cases in which they have completed hair transplant successfully even at the age of 80.

Moreover hair loss is very common at the age of 80, so hair transplant has to be done at this age. Considering aged patients for hair transplant should in fact be one of the preferred priorities. Most of the causes may also be the same as that of younger people like the cause of hair loss, their physical condition, medical history, condition of the scalp, hair loss pattern, expectations.

The physician is also advised to discuss the outcomes of transplantation with their patients as the outcome may differ in different cases depending on the age of the patient. The patient should also be advised that future graying of hair is possible.