Moving into tripod headstand from here

This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the community, answered.

The Question

[COMP] How to move into tripod headstand from here?

Our Response

From your photo the base is the issue, not the lift. Tripod (Mukta Hasta / Sirsasana B) lives or dies on the triangle: crown of the head forward, both hands planted shoulder-width with elbows stacked directly over wrists. If the elbows splay or the hands creep too wide, you’ve got no shelf to load and the knees have nowhere to land. Set that triangle first, before anything goes up.

Then don’t kick — walk and stack. Plant the knees on the backs of the upper arms (that’s the tripod-specific shelf), find that balance, and only then float the hips over the shoulders. The leg lift is the last 10%; the first 90% is getting weight off the head and into the hands so your neck isn’t the load path. If you can’t hold the knees-on-arms balance, you’re not ready to extend the legs, full stop.

Build the supported-headstand foundation first so the line and the neck mechanics are honest. Salamba Sirsasana teaches the alignment that keeps tripod off your cervical spine.

More on Ashtanga Tech: Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand)