Ivan Stanley, a Dubai based yoga teacher, made the newly accepted international yoga day his inspiration to take his mastery to a new level. The 40-year-old Keralite did a headstand (Shirsasana) for 61 minutes straight and set a world record on headstands!
This is not his first attempt at the task though. Previously, the fantastically flexible man set a record by standing on his head for 34 minutes. On June 21st, he broke this record by 27 minutes.
Image courtesy: www.thenational.ae
Ivan Stanley’s journey as a yoga master is a commendable one. From power yoga to Acro Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, and Vinyasa flow, Ivan knows all the moves. He travels around the world to lead workshops and classes and has been certified by the Bihar School of Yoga and Swami Vivekananda Yoga Kenrda to teach this physical tradition of the east.
Known to have spent a month in the Himalayas, Evan actually looks like a yogi with his long matted hair and yoga attire.
Image courtesy: www.emirates247.com
The Shirsasana has many benefits as an exercise, even if you don’t go on to set a world record. When one does a headstand, blood flows from the limbs to the brain both oxygenating the brain better and increasing strength and memory.
As a certified paragliding pilot, Ivan Stanley has even tried doing yoga while in the air and amazed his fellow pilots. His life is a living example of the benefits of yoga.
On his workshops around the world he is propagating the need to make children under six years join yoga so that they can reach higher flexibility levels and evade diseases, both physical and mental. Working as a yoga teacher and copywriter, Ivan Stanley is juggling many things at once.
Image courtesy: http://www.arabiangazette.com
Just like our PM Narendra Modi, Ivan Stanley has also managed to send a message across the world through his recent feat — that yoga is not a matter of religion, but of physical and mental fitness.
Something to go head over heels about for more than one reason, right?
P.S: And we hope Guinness starts a headstand category soon and crown our yoga master
