Posture Q&A: Handstand

Question:  I can do handstand against the wall all day.  But, every time I try to do handstand away from the wall, I flip over. Every time.  How can I build the strength I need to find some hang-time in this posture?

Answer:  First, congrats on being able to flip!  Falling safely is essential to practicing arm balances and inversions.

Second, stop using the wall as something that you use for balance.. Instead, use the wall as a prop that supports a portion of your body weight.. 

This way your muscles are being trained in proper alignment and your deep stabilizing muscles will still be called upon to hold you up. Think of this as the same concept as chaturanga on your knees.  The posture still must be practiced properly to develop alignment and muscle memory. The knees are simply there to lighten the load.

Handstand - or Adho Mukka Vrksasana - takes coordination from your entire body.   But, focusing on a few key areas, can help you find the strength, balance and opening you need to hold the posture.

Warm Up
For safety's sake, never practice a peak posture cold. Find a place with plenty of floor and wall space. Begin with 2 minutes in child's pose (settle into your breath and gently stretch the shoulders and hips) and warm up with a few rounds of sun A (in laymen's terms, yoga burpies!).

Built Strength
Now that you're warm, let's get to it. To build strength, consider the fact that modifying the legs in this posture does not change the essence of the pose (a bent leg hand stand, is still a handstand.) Therefore, we know that we should first focus on the primary muscles used to achieve handstand - core, shoulders and back. A "Wall L" is a great place to start.

 Sit with your butt against the wall, legs outstretched. Eyeball where feet reach, then put your hands in that space.  Now, climb your feet up the wall till they reach hip-height.  Extend your arms up and legs out till your body becomes an upsidedown "L".    This practice posture will ignite the necessary shoulder muscles  to keep you stable, your core to keep your lifted and balanced, and give you a better sense of what it feels like to have your hips stacked directly over your shoulders.

Holds each Wall L for 30 seconds and repeat three times.

Find Balance
From your Wall L, walk your toes higher up the wall, then extend one leg overhead.  Press away from the wall until just one toe is touching, without compromising the placement of the hips over the shoulders. This is the position in which you can move feel your core's relationship to your hips. When your hips are level and square with the tailbone tucked, you will avoid a deep sway in your back - which in part causes the flip.  This position will also allow you to practice the sensation of moving your legs over your head without compromising your hip to shoulder to wrist alignment.

Hold for 30 seconds, then switch legs. Repeat twice.

Have fun!