Carrying stuff on head

[Spinningwoman]

OK, slightly OT here, but in my head there's a connection<g>. (Pesky neurons.). Maybe it was the Sherpa pictures that made me think of it.

Has anyone here ever attempted to carry stuff on their head, either for posture training or as a practical thing? I remember being slightly obsessed with the idea as a child, and got quite good at it. I have since done it occasionally as an adult when I have had to carry an awkward package that I couldn't hold well in my arms, though I have to use hands to support it. I recently tried it again with a bean bag while practising Tai Chi to keep my head from dropping and it made me want to try it some more.

 

[Longboard]

I wouldn't recommend it for anyone over forty. The discs separating the cervical vertebrae just aren't as jelly-like as they were when younger. Think of it as the opposite of traction/decompression.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

L used to do it all the time when I was a child out od necessity but the thing I carried weren't heavy just ackward.
I do it once in a while just for posture check purposes but I make sure that the item is not heavy, like a small book or a small bag of rice/beans and sometimes a piece of fruit even.
So don't listen to Board

 

[Hobbit]

I put sometimes a small folded towel on my head: this is very lightweight (and doesn't fall down!), but it allows nevertheless to feel that there is something and to make a conscious effort to push it up. This pushing up can be felt all the way down in the muscles along the spine: All the vertebrae are ever so slightly pulled up - and this exercise is actually relieving the discs.
Something much heavier (like a full water amphora ) on the head however could lead to involuntary muscle contraction or even cramps, if you aren't used to it and didn't build up slowly - not a good idea!

 

[Spinningwoman]

Yes, I wasn't thinking of carrying all my holiday luggage that way<g>. A small weight actually does make you stretch up, like hobbit says. And I'm sure it would be better for my back to carry a bag of shopping back from the local shop that way than in a bag hanging from one hand, if I wasn't too held back by social embarrassment. (maybe that's why my brain puts it in the same drawer as going barefoot.)