Review: Feetup headstand prop, hmmmmmmmm

I often get asked to review things on this blog, there was the underwear for men that makes your bottom looks... fuller, plumper? I don't know actually, never really understood the concept, or whether to feel flattered or offended at being asked, I passed on that one.

Books of course and if it seems relevant to the blog, my own interests or something I suspect readers of the blog might be interested in I'll say yes. Melanie Cooper's book for example that I reviewed last week.

Book review: Teaching Yoga, Teaching Asana based on the Ashtanga Primary Series

by Melanie Cooper.

I seem to be getting a more of these start up projects lately, the most recent being to promote a book project to raise $20,000 to publish a book on a series of emails between two friends, the email's however have already been written! Perhaps I'm missing something. Supposedly they want to raise the money to format the book and tidy it up the for publication and perhaps make an audio version. I don't get it self publishing is free or a couple of hundred if you your ego wants something glossier and musicians have been using garageband to produce whole albums, an audio book is easy there's even a podcast button. I didn't like the reference to 'their careers as spiritual teachers' so passed on that one too.

Yoga Documentaries I'm more happy to support, this one for example looks interesting, a Yoga Documentary called Part and Parcel, BNS Iyengar is in it and they are seeking funds for post production.

http://www.pinknamaste.com/Part&ParcelDocumentary.html

I mention all this because in this instance I actually got in contact with Yogamatters and asked them if they would like me to review their Feetup headstand stool.

I'd seen an interesting review of the product by Genny Wilkinson-Priest (http://www.healthista.com/body/think-you-cant-do-a-headstand/)

"The new Feet Up is aimed at yogis who cannot lift into a headstand or hold one by themselves. But it looks like a grown-up’s potty and my 3-year old kept dragging it into the bathroom"

I wondered if it might actually help students of Vinyasa Krama yoga who struggle with headstand.

Krishnamacharya stressed to Ramaswami the importance of headstand and in Vinyasa krama we have myriad movement while inverted, still, I wanted to try it first before suggesting it, before recommending it.

It arrived ready made up in a huge box and without instructions, just a postcard. Now that might be because I was just reviewing in, if you were buying it new then perhaps it would arrive differently. Just heard that it arrives as a flatpack and you put it together, it looks a little Ikea actually, easy to put together I'm sure. Mine is probably a demo version from The Yoga show. I had it delivered to work and had to bring it home on the bike, tricky.

Turns out there is a nice manual booklet on Yogamatters website
http://www.yogamatters.com/cmscontent/documents/Files/feetup_booklet.pdf

First thing, it IS sturdy, well made, really don't think it's going to break on you although I do wonder, worry about what happens if you tip over to the side with your head stuck down the hole, have there been tests? Ouch.

german site http://www.feetup.de/startseite.html

I'm seriously worried about that actually, strikes me you could break your neck. Happy to be reassured on this.

I have to say I hated it the first time I tried it, I didn't like the feeling of the blood rushing to my head, my wife tried it too and thought she was going to get a nosebleed. I didn't like the way it was pressing down into the shoulders or rather my shoulders down into it, perhaps you get used to it. I tried it for a week and still haven't gotten used to it

So I stuck with it all week, trying it everyday and I have to say I still don't like it, still can't get on with it. Perhaps in regular headstand having the arms at the same level as the head it affects the blood flow differently, equalises it somehow. I spend forty minutes in headstands sometimes, doing the full Vinyasa krama Inverted sequence and never get a headache. In the feet up it's just your head sticking down below perhaps that's why I get that feeling that my head is about to explode that I don't find with regular headstands.

I managed to practice some of the vinyasa krama movements in it, the arms were in the way but then you can also hold onto the legs which would move your elbows out of the way. Here's a short vinyasa Krama Inversions practice on the feetup.

Still, many seem to love it, there is a popular feet up Facebook page with people posting pictures of their feet up all over the place, saw one up the side of a mountain.

Putting personal feelings to one side, does it work?

I actually do think it is something every studio, and why not every teacher, should have or at least could use. It is easier to get up into headstand and I imagine if you've never been able to get into headstand then you probably would in no time with the feetup stool. So for the teacher you might be able to build confidence in your student and then after a few times move them on to regular headstands. It could bring about the breakthrough.

At £99.00 it's expensive, can't recommend anyone parts with that kind of money for home use when my own feeling is that you only use it in the beginning to gain confidence to actually get up into headstand and then wean yourself off it. Find a teacher, a school that has one and go there for a couple of weeks.

So apologies to Yogamatters but thank you for letting me try it, personally it's not for me and I'll be sticking with regular headstands...

but that doesn't mean it might not suit somebody else. I strongly recommend you try it for yourself before buying, and you might love it.

here's the link to the feet up page on Yogamatters website
http://www.yogamatters.com/product/717/prfeet/feetup-headstand-yoga-stool.html

Oh I did find another use for it...