Bregma Vs. Crown Headstand
I was reading Anatomy of Hatha Yoga when I came upon two types of headstands. Who knew? So I went ahead and tried both. It turns out I have been practicing the “bregma” style and was only vaguely aware that there might be another one.
Not only that I did not even know that the word bregma existed!
As a reference: The crown of the head is located in the area where your hair spirals out as opposed to the bregma part of the head which (see yellow skull image above) is the area where the skull joins the frontal to the parietal bones. This area is soft for babies as the suture does not harden for a while after being born.
The book has this to say about them:
- “…natural response to the crown headstand is to hold the body straight, to keep the lower back flat.”
- “In the bregma headstand it is more natural to permit the lower back to relax and arch forward allowing gravvity to increase the lumbar lordosis.”
- “The bregma headstand has a more dynamic effect on your consciousness than the crown headstand”…”The crown headstand is calm and poised“
| COWN Headstand – Straight back. A new experience for me |
So, what does Yoga Mala, –Pattabhi Jois– say about it? “…Then inhale and exhale, place the crown of the head on the floor, interlocked hands cupping the back of the head and, breathing in and out, straighten the legs, keeping them together and straight, lift them up with the power of the arms, tighten the body, point the toes…”
B.K.S. Iyengar: “Rest the crown of the head only on the blanket, so that the back of the head touches the palms which are cupped. Do not rest the forehead nor the back but only the crown of the head on the blanket” (Light on Yoga)
A.G. Mohan does not clarify the exact postion of the head (in Yoga for Body Breath and Mind), but says that ideally the body would be perfectly vertical, pointing to a crown position for the head.
Ramaswami, in his Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga, just as Mohan, does not specify, but looking at the pictures you can clearly see that it is the crown cupped on the hands and the spine and pose altogether is fully straight.
| BREGMA: Almost thinking back bend, perhaps I am exaggerating it a bit… |
| BREGMA So here it is without the exaggeration, still the curvature of the lower back is more pronounced than in the crown |
Which part of the head do you place on the mat?
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