Tummy and Armpits: How To Practice Some Key Actions of Handstands Without Your Hands

Even though handstands and arm balances feature in most of my sequences, not all of us can do a handstand.  Sometimes, for whatever reason, we might not be able to put our hands on the ground either.

But all of us can learn some of the key actions of a handstand without putting our hands on the ground.  

In this post I share a video and some instructions about some of the key actions that you can cultivate so you are still working towards similar 'anatomic' actions.  

You could take this option when it gets to an arm balance section of the class and still be doing amazing energy moving work.  

Have a look at the video to see the movement in action, then take a look at how I have tried to deconstruct the steps. 

Soft Tummy

One of the keys here is to be able to have a soft tummy.  If you cannot relax your tummy then you very likely may not create the correct firmness in the tummy when the time comes to do so.

Digging fingers into soft tummy to show it is soft

This is trickier than you might think.  Most people find it really difficult to relax tummy muscles.  It can be for many reasons.  One of the key ones I have come across is the perception that we should be sucking our tummy in and walking around with sucked in tummies as much as we can.  

Be aware that if you cannot relax your tummy muscles, you are putting fairly constant pressure on the contents of your abdomen, including your bowels and reproductive organs.  This can impact on the functioning of the digestive and reproductive systems.  

Anyway, just a thought.  

So, step one is to relax your tummy completely.  In the photo and video I try to show this by digging my fingers deep into my tummy so you can see it is not hard. 

Lengthen lower back

In general I start many postures by moving my sitting bones down, top of pelvis back in order to lengthen my lower back.  

I took my arms overhead in the photo/video so you could see what I am doing.  It is also a nice thing to do to enhance the length of the back of spine.  

I am not doing this action by tensing my tummy.  There is a little lower abdominal internal activation but generally the tummy is very soft still.  In the video I dig my fingers back in my tummy to show this.  

Push hips/sitting bones forward without moving legs forward

This is tricky.  You try to push your hips/sitting bones forward without moving the legs forward. 

If the legs go forward you don't get the firmness in your tummy.

If the legs remain as much as possible where they are then the tummy goes firm.  

In the video you can see that I push my fingers into my tummy after this and they cannot go in.  It is firm.  I try to show this below as well.  

My tummy is firm in a way that I can still breathe freely and feel as though the movement of the breath could go there.  

If you watch my arm balance videos where my abdomen is exposed you can sort of see that my breath is still going into my abdomen area (looks like I have gills!).

This is not sucking in tummy.  If you slow the video down where I push hips forward you can see that  I am not sucking up.  

Push armpits down and forward

Push the armpits down and forward.  

In the video I show how this firms the front and back of the armpits.  

My tummy is still firm.  

The movements I do in the video are really exaggerated and jerky.  I was trying to emphasise what I was doing.  If I did my own practice these actions would be much more subtle.

Alternate firming of armpits and tummy

Because I have been practicing these activations for a while, I can do them as shown.  I showed this way more for the video so you could see what I am doing.  

If you are learning this, most people will find getting armpits and tummy firm easier if they try putting the arms on the thighs as shown in the picture below.

If I was in a class, I would be encouraging people to use this method as pushing the hands against the thighs helps prevent them from coming forward when you push the hips forward.  Also, it is easier to get some armpit activation for many people if the hands have something to press down against.  

In class I usually do the demonstration as shown in this photo and get people to feel what is going on.  

Stay or take these activations to the ground

These two activations are key components (but not the only ones) of many postures (?most) where you are weight bearing through the arms.  

If you don't want to or cannot put weight through your arms for some reason then you could be doing this and really feel like you are doing something.  You could do it from kneeling if you want as well.

If you can, you could try to take these activations to the ground for plank, kneeling plank, bakasana, or even a handstand.  

But remember, your life will not be any better just because you can do a handstand!

It will probably be better if you can learn to relax your tummy completely then learn to activate it when you need however!

Don't do anything that hurts.  Be alert to over practicing and how you feel the next few days whenever you introduce new practices.  Have fun.  Laugh.  Smile.

Happy and safe practicing.

High Plank Foundation For Firm Tummy And Better Arm Balances

A handstand is an arm balance.  The foundation of the arm balances I do is the high plank.

If I was super strong I could transition from my high plank to bakasana then to a handstand.  But I am a bit weak.

Not all high planks are equal.  Some will not teach you the requisite postural firmness you need for better arm balances.

In this post I show a video where I give some of the fundamentals of the high plank that I do that changed my practice phenomenally and helped me to develop into this handstand.

Watch the video first to see the movement in action.  Then follow the step by step instructions.  I have written about bakasana before so you can also refer to that post (bakasana on a block).

Do not do anything that hurts.  It is better to practice with a teacher.

Get Set
Come onto your hands and knees.  You need to make sure you are using your hands properly so you don't feel sinking into your wrists.  This means pressing with your fingertips, feeling as though you are trying to grip at the floor or make fists.  Imagine there are little holes in the ground like a tenpin bowling ball that you are trying to press your fingertips into to lift up the ground.

Knees are behind hips.  Shoulders are over wrists.  

Lift ribs into upper back. Can you see how rounded and lifted my upper back is?  This feeling of being broad across the upper back is important.  I feel as though I am pushing the arms downwards into the floor.  My shoulder blades come right around the sides of my chest.

My sitting bones go down towards the back of my knees and top of pelvis moves towards the sky to lengthen my lower back.  My lower back is not arched.

The sense is the entire back of my body is lengthened.  This shape is important.  You will need to maintain it.

The actions in my arms are important and maintained.

I push my armpits in the direction they are facing.  Here that sort of means down and back.

I push my hands down and forward--away from my knees.

I feel as though I am pulling my knees towards my hands.

I feel as though I am pushing my hips forwards towards my hands but they do not go anywhere.

You cannot really see these actions.  That is what makes the practice of this posture difficult.  My kneeling plank is already cultivating a postural firmness for me so that my tummy is getting firm through the posture but in a way where I can still feel that when I breathe the tummy can move.

In fact, if you look at my waist area you can see it is like I have little gills there--you can see movement when I am breathing.  I am breathing a lot here! It is hard.  If I could I might try to breathe less.

Lift Up
Maintaining all previous actions, I put the tips of my toes on the ground and lift my knees.

I am careful not to sag my chest or lower back.

Performed well, you should feel very firm in the tummy area without needing to actually try to firm it.  It should come naturally because of the posture.

See how I am trying to be right on the tops of my toes.  Not the balls of the feet.  That is important.

Tip toe forward
From there I try and maintain the same actions but I just tip toe forward--on the very tops of my toes.

A common challenge as you tip toe forward is to keep the tummy firm.  It helps if you keep your knees bent and stay on the tops of your toes.  

I keep all the same actions from before, lifting chest up into upper back, sitting bones down and top of pelvis back to lengthen lower back, feeling as though I am moving my hips forward.

Stay or bakasana

You can just try and stay there, on the very tops of your toes, lifting your chest, firming your tummy.  It is really hard!!

Or you can initiate bakasana by dropping your butt a little, lifting your knees up higher as though into your chest, lightly resting them on our upper arms.

You can stay there or, if you feel light, you can lean forward until the toes feel light and then you can pull the heels into the bottom.

You can still see my little gills breathing.  That is important.  I am firm but calm.

Optional extras!
I am too chicken to do handstand on a bench like that.  I have not yet got the strength.

But if you have built these foundations then a handstand should get easier.

I do the same thing but get onto my tip toes and start to take one leg up.

I give a little tap...

...and up I come...

Sthira sukham asanam.  Firm but calm.

Summary
I have written a few posts about bakasana and even kneeling plank and plank before.

That is because they are really important!

Get a good high plank.  Then keep the actions and get a good bakasana.

These will help build the foundations.

There are other poses that you can do from bakasana so that you do not need to kick up into handstand but instead float from bakasana straight up.  I am still working on that one!  In the meantime, I enjoy the inversion with free spine.

This is the type of step by step approach to movement and posture I use in classes, workshops, and retreats.  You are welcome to join me any time!

Happy and safe practicing.

Much metta,
Samantha

www.artofliferetreats.com
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Look at all the fun we are having! Feel free to join us when you can!

Ardha Chandrasana to Trikonasana and Back Again

Moving to trikonasana from ardha chandrasana variation

In my own practice I do not come into postures the same way all of the time.  Aside from moving actively, I think it is important to enter and leave posture in different ways so that you don't fall into habitual patterns.

In this sequence I enter trikonasana from a sort of unsupported ardha chandrasana and then come back to ardha chandrasana again.

The way I move requires and helps enhance stability around the ankle, knees, and hips.

If you cannot balance like this now, it does not matter, you can slide your foot along the ground.

Watch the video first to see movement in action then take a look at the step by instructions with a few key points highlighted.

It was raining as I took this video so it is a bit cloudy but we take our practice as it comes when we practice outside.  In this video take I also almost overbalanced at the end but not all practice is perfect so I put this one in rather than other ones where I made no mistakes.

Now, see some of the step by step instructions below.

They are, of course, not all of the key points for this posture, but some that I am flagging in my current classes.

It is important to realise that I am rolling my front thigh (balancing leg) out in all postures and rolling my back thigh (or raised leg) in.

Establish length and stability around the lower back

From behind

I do this by moving sitting bones down, top of pelvis back, to lengthen my lower back.

At the same time I begin to initiate some spinal forward flexion in a way that makes my tummy firm but so I can still feel as though I can feel it move when I breathe.

It is important to appreciate that I firm my tummy before I even take my back foot off the ground.





Weight transferring to standing leg without sinking into hip

Transfer weight while maintaining lift

It is important to make sure you feel lift out of the hip and leg that you are transferring the weight to.

Throughout this process you need to stay lifted out of that hip joint.

Firm tummy, long lower back, and staying lifted out of the standing leg hip joint are some of the real fundamentals of these postures and the transitions.




Leaning forward and lifting back leg
Maintaining all previous actions I lean forward, and keep leaning forward until it feels quite natural for that other leg to come off.

It is really important to emphasise I am not dropping into that standing hip here.

If you look at the picture you can see that I have tummy muscles active but not sucked in.  That would make me tight and immobile in my spine.



Reaching the back leg out and down
The back leg keeps going out.  I keep leaning my torso forward.  I keep all actions I initiated in the beginning.

At this stage I am in more danger of sinking into my standing leg hip.  I need to stay lifted.

Practically that means I need to keep sitting bones down and top of pelvis back, keep the thigh of that leg rolling out, and avoid jutting that hip out to the side.  It is tricky but will keep you feeling light and strong in the posture.

Leg lowers, they straighten, then active spinal twist
From there I maintain all the work around the lower back, tummy, and hips and lower the raised leg to the ground.

I stretch the ground with my feet (as though trying to separate my feet without them moving anywhere).  This activates my legs.

I don't take my legs too wide.  Who cares?  I also don't take my hand to the ground.  Not necessary.  Of course you can if you want to but make sure you maintain the important actions you have been cultivating.

The key spinal movement here is to perform an active twist from navel up. You can see my tummy muscles have been working but, again, they are not sucked in, which would stiffen my spine and make the active spinal movement impossible or difficult or certainly very rigid.

Bend knee, lean forward, come back in reverse
From there I make my way back to ardha chandrasana.

When you work well from your hip (lifting and not sinking) and from your tummy (firm but calm) you find that you do not need that leading hand to come to the ground.

In fact, you begin to find it is a bit of a nuisance on the ground and you feel better and more lifted with it off.

I took this video standing on a metre high block so there was no where for me to put my hand but most of the time I don't put it down anyway.

Putting your hand down to the ground will make it more likely you drop into your hip.  For me, one of the main purposes of this posture is to help develop some stability around that hip joint.  I think it is better to keep the hand up and toe on the ground if you have difficulty balancing.

Summary
For me this transition is a good chance to practice lifting out of the standing hip and cultivating some good balance.

I start from lengthening lower back and firming tummy then go from there.  It does not matter how wide your legs are or whether you reach the ground.  In fact, sometimes going wider and for the ground will not give you as much benefit.

In this video I demonstrated leg raised versions.  However, you could just as well lightly slide your foot back to trikonasana, and just keep a toe tip on the ground for the ardha chandrasana variations.  From there you get a good chance to practice all of the hip stabilising actions.

This approach to movement and posture is what I teach in classes, retreats, and workshops.  I really look forward to sharing with you.  Our Bali retreat is filling up so do get in quick if you want to join us in April!

Much metta,
Samantha

www.artofliferetreats.com
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Brilliant Yoga Idea: Go Easy On Studio Time And Get Outdoors

I am going to start a series of posts with some brilliant yoga ideas.

I think they are brilliant.

You can make up your own mind.

My first brilliant idea is for you to give up your studio time for a week and exchange it for yoga time in the great outdoors.

The bare naked sky above you is good for you.  That ceiling and those walls just contain you.

The breeze on your face is good for you.  That air conditioning (or heating) just dries you out.

The ground beneath your feet--be it grass or dirt or sand is good for you.  Wooden floors are nice, don't get me wrong, but they are inside!! [see points above].

When you practice outside beneath an open blue sky you look up and feel almost as though you are a part of it.

It's breath-taking.

When you open your eyes from savasana to behold a starry night you can't help but feel at peace.

It's awe inspiring.

When you start your pre-dawn practice and watch the sun rise, you feel the sun's rays shimmering on your skin.

It's radiant.

When you practice in nature you are continually amazed by the beauty of the world around you.

No matter what wallpaper is pasted, what music is played, or what statues are placed, I will never find a better place to practice than the great outdoors.

On days when I feel exhausted, I always feel better if I just open a window or door.

On days when I think I can't practice, I simply step outside and find myself drawn to move or sit quietly and meditate.

It might be freezing, it might be boiling.  It might be windy, it might be raining.

I simply pop my head outside and figure out what I need to wear and where I can be as sheltered as necessary without 'succumbing' to the elements.

It can be hard.  Sometimes you need to be creative.  But it is always worth my while.

Why don't you try for yourself?  Expose yourself to nature rather than hide away indoors and feel yourself embraced by nature.

Happy and safe and brilliant practicing.  See you outdoors somewhere in Canberra, Sri Lanka or Bali soon!

much metta,
Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogpost.com
www.artofliferetreats.com