Shirshasana (head-stand) health risks?

Hello, I am not a heavy yoga practitioner, but I have really taken a liking to this particular asana (as well as a couple other specific ones). All I can really seem to find on the internet about it are typical westernized-yoga websites that proclaim it to be the "king of all asanas" and list a number of physical and "spiritual" benefits, but I can't seem to find much about possibly negative aspects of this asana.

I ask because, shortly after I started practicing Shirshasana, I noticed that I was developing what appeared to be burst capillaries / small blood vessels on my face, mostly around the eye / upper cheek / forehead region. It wasn't a massive amount or anything, but enough to be noticeable when looking in the mirror from a ~3 foot distance. They look like just small red dots or thin lines scattered about here and there. There has never been any pain involved or any other negative side-effects that I can detect, so I'm not seriously worried about it, but it does make me curious...

If the head stand is causing some of the more fragile and thin blood vessels on my face to burst (I assume this is because of the increased blood pressure which that area isn't used to), then what about internally? Could something similar be happening within the head, brain, eyes, etc? And if so, could this cause any prolonged damage to those organs?

On a positive note, I have noticed recently that there doesn't seem to be as many "spots" or "lines" appearing after practicing this asana. And I have even been increasing my time to 5-10 mins (as opposed to the 3-5 mins that I was maintaining when first starting out). Hopefully this is because the blood vessels in my head and face have been strengthened since practicing this asana, but I am still curious to hear about any possible health concerns (no matter how small) related to this asana, because I can't seem to find many on the web (except for those related to people who have known medical problems).

Any info would be much appreciated, thanks.
--James

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Hello, I am not a heavy yoga practitioner, but I have really taken a liking to this particular asana (as well as a couple other specific ones). All I can really seem to find on the internet about it are typical westernized-yoga websites that proclaim it to be the "king of all asanas" and list a number of physical and "spiritual" benefits, but I can't seem to find much about possibly negative aspects of this asana.

I ask because, shortly after I started practicing Shirshasana, I noticed that I was developing what appeared to be burst capillaries / small blood vessels on my face, mostly around the eye / upper cheek / forehead region. It wasn't a massive amount or anything, but enough to be noticeable when looking in the mirror from a ~3 foot distance. They look like just small red dots or thin lines scattered about here and there. There has never been any pain involved or any other negative side-effects that I can detect, so I'm not seriously worried about it, but it does make me curious...

If the head stand is causing some of the more fragile and thin blood vessels on my face to burst (I assume this is because of the increased blood pressure which that area isn't used to), then what about internally? Could something similar be happening within the head, brain, eyes, etc? And if so, could this cause any prolonged damage to those organs?

On a positive note, I have noticed recently that there doesn't seem to be as many "spots" or "lines" appearing after practicing this asana. And I have even been increasing my time to 5-10 mins (as opposed to the 3-5 mins that I was maintaining when first starting out). Hopefully this is because the blood vessels in my head and face have been strengthened since practicing this asana, but I am still curious to hear about any possible health concerns (no matter how small) related to this asana, because I can't seem to find many on the web (except for those related to people who have known medical problems).

Any info would be much appreciated, thanks.
--James
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