Handy tips from a handstand addict

Ok, one of my all-time favorite topics of late, HANDSTANDS!

I think handstand has become a bit of a controversial pose. Some people view it as a fancy party trick pose and some view it with barely restrained envy thinking they'll never be able to do that. I do think a lot (arguably too much) of emphasis is placed on it and achieving it. Being able to do a handstand doesn't mean you're a good person. It doesn't mean you've mastered yoga (hint: no one EVER masters yoga). But it is a pretty awesome practice. Inverting and arm balancing is fun and empowering; I've always been an addict of arm balances. I'm far (VERY far) from being an expert. But I've been playing with handstand with increasing regularity in my own practice and in my classes over the last few years. Here's a few tips I've picked up along the way…

1. DON'T BE AFRAID (or rather, try not to)
As we age, we get a sense of mortality. Kids have NO fear, whether it's hucking cliffs on skis or tumbling around on their hands. We learn to fear falling. Hello, it hurts falling on your face! So when your yoga teacher tells you to plant your hands and lift your feet, you hesitate. The best thing you can do for your inversion practice is to take the fear out of the equation. Put a pillow under your face for crow pose, focus on strength building postures for inversions rather than starting with kicking up (next segment), learn how to safely fall out of poses. Having that exit strategy is huge! The wall can be a great training tool but also a crutch that you cling to, and it's hard to let go of it in a crowded class where there are people and water bottles all around you, and you're on hardwood floors. The first time I fear-free kicked up into handstand without a wall was on a wide-open beach. There was no one around for me to kick in the face, or laugh at me for falling. I wasn't afraid to fall in the sand, so I just went for it, and landed it! I then went back home and had some teacher friends spot me falling out of handstand into wheel (or cartwheel out). Knowing I can safely land in wheel pose if I kick to hard or fall out of handstand means I can play with handstand pretty much anywhere (except a china shop).

2. PREP YOUR CORE!

A lot of times with inverting, we go straight for getting the feet in the air. If we shift the focus to getting the hips over the shoulders in the air, and having the core strength to support this, then we have so much more control and stability in the inversion. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at pictures when I struggled holding handstand and I saw my feet over my shoulders but my hips weren't all the way up there. This is pretty impossible to sustain, let alone to be able to play with leg variations and transitions into other poses. Beyond any and all core work, some great prep poses are plank, L-pose, and tuck jumps. All of these focus on getting the hips over the wrists rather than the feet. 

3. SPLITS ARE EASIER! 

I'm going to tell you a secret… Handstand splits are easier than straight up-and-down handstand. It's so much easier to balance up there, but it's also easier to dump into your low back. For a while I got complacent with my handstand practice, using splits as kind of a guarantee to get up there. No bueno. Even in splits, keep the core engaged (hugging the belly button in toward the spine), and elongating the low back (tucking the tailbone). Legs are strong, with the muscles hugging in toward the bones and energy pressing out through the ball mounds of the feet. No banana-ing with the low back!

4. CAREFUL WITH KICKING UP

While I'm working on building the strength to press up into handstand (hands are planted and feet "magically" lift up into the air), right now I can only kick up (and sometimes hop up). By relying on momentum to get up there, it's easy to kick to hard and flip over and to banana the low back. Staying strong is a must for kicking up. When getting ready to kick up, bring the shoulders over the wrists. Fingertips are almost clawing the mat, hands are pressing into the mat getting a lift in the shoulders, heart is melting yet shoulder blades are drawing together. Low belly is hugging in, and legs stay super active. Once the actual kicking part takes place, visualize the momentum shooting into the mat through your hands. This will help ground you while helping to prevent the momentum from flipping your feet past overhead. 

5. HAVE FUN WITH IT!

Inversion and arm balance clinics are some seriously fun classes! Whether you're a newbie learning the basics, or a yogi with an advanced practice, clinics are a great way to break poses down and learn awesome new stuff. Inversions and arm balances are insanely empowering! I mean, you're working to balance your body weight on your hands! They're also fun! They're a great reminder to not take yourself and your practice too seriously. You will fall; you will laugh; you will try again. It's all part of the process!

HAPPY HANDSTANDING!!

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