Handstand is one of the most coveted poses in yoga, especially if you scroll social media a lot. But it is also a pose that requires a lot of work to achieve, and once you have it to also maintain.
It took me years personally to be able to do handstand confidently, and I still have to work at it regularly.
There are many ways to strengthen your arms and shoulders for this pose, while also getting used to being inverted. Blood flowing to the head, and the hands being weight bearing are both unusual sensations.
This is one of my favorite drills to work towards the illustrious handstand.
1. Bring your mat up against the wall, lengthwise. Bring the heels against the wall, and coming to downward dog. The heels should be slightly lifted. Hands should be shoulder width apart. To make sure length is good, shift forward into plank, shoulders should be comfortable over wrists. Lift the hips up and back.
2. Lift one foot up, placing it directly behind the hips. Push the foot into the wall and bring the second foot up to the wall. Both feet should be roughly hip height. Stay here for a moment, learning what it feels like to get the shoulders over the wrists. Maybe walking the hands in closer so that hips can also come over shoulders. You may want to take a break before trying the next step.
3. From inverted the L-Shape position you might start to play with lifting one foot off the wall. Extend one leg up to the sky. Lower. Switch legs. Alternate until you need to come down for a break. Once you start to feel comfortable here, you might start to push off the second toes, seeing what they can do.
Not quite sure what I mean? Check out the full 5 minute tutorial on YouTube below.
Namaste,
Kassandra
