Hanstand 101 - Best Bang For Your Buck

Ok, this post is gonna be complex and technically difficult to comprehend, so down a couple of ginkgo biloba, open a Wikipedia tab and pay attention...

Just messin'...it's a post on what to practice if you are just starting in handstand and are wondering what to do.

Where You Want To Be

First up let's say where we want to be: "I want to (eventually) press into handstand, hold handstand and come down into an arm balance".

Now if your goals are different to what I just wrote, then this post, while helpful, won't be optimal for you.

Pressing, holding and lowering into a balance is ALL about core and upper body strength. Less about flexibility.

Onto the practice...

What You Want To Practice

Lolasana: Every handstand guru will have had this bad boy in their repertoire at the start of their arm balancing career. It very quickly builds the right type of strength (shoulder, chest and core) required for press handstand.

All you do is kneel down, put your chest on your thighs and try to straighten your arms, while keeping your knees glued to your chest.

As you get better at this, try taking your knees backward (while still glued to your chest).

Handstand hold. This is just holding handstand (at the wall is good) for an amount of time. Download a timer app for this and keep increasing the time.

L Kick-ups are great for eventually holding a free standing handstand, because the lower leg makes it easier to balance while inverted. Read the post on kicking up to get this right.

Now there are two end positions to practice kicking up into. One is with the lower leg straight and the other is with the lower leg pulled in to the chest. Practice both.

Stealing Stuff

Let's lastly note that the above order is important. It's a decreasing intensity practice. Body builders train this way for a reason, so we'll steal from them and practice that way too.

Guaranteed, these 3 moves will fast-track your handstand quicker than someone who is practicing handstand all over the place. Ashtangis are great examples of the benefits of purposeful practice, so we steal from them also.

Ok, get to it, J

Yoga Dude Post - If You Knew Then What You Know Now

Busted!

Ladies...are you being sticky beaks, hoping to get the inside poop on what make us yoga dudes tick?

Sorry to disappoint, but this is gonna be bat crap boring for you.

If Only I Knew Then...

Ok lads, you know how sometimes you wish that you could go back in time, knowing then, what you know now? Sure you do.

Well here's a blast from the past future...

If you are a dude, when you reach your hands above your head, chances are that you can't get your elbows further back than your shoulders. Nope, you only think you can.

...alright, go and get your selfie stick...this is the ONLY time it's ok to use one of those things...and what are you doing with one anyway? Busted! Whatever.

Raise one arm to the position you "know" your elbows are further back than your shoulders and take a shot using aforementioned device.

Ok, now that we've got past that little delusion, let's get on with reality...

Being able to take your elbows over your head, further back than your shoulders, is key to a lot of advanced postures.

The trouble is, that by the time it dawns on you that this would be a good thing to get into, you'll wish you started practicing this a whole lot earlier.

So, if you want to get ahead of the curve, start this now. 

The Girly Stuff Won't Work

Putting your elbows on blocks and adopting a modified playful puppy pose (uttana shishosana) won't cut it for you either. I know, I know, that's the pose the (female) instructor does to get their - girly - elbows back there. 

But you are a muscular neanderthal, and that pose won't do squat to open your shoulders. You need to amp it up a bit if you are going to overcome a life time of chin-ups and lat pulldowns.

This Is The Ticket

First up, you need to strengthen the muscles required to hold your arms back there. This is headstand hollow back. 

Start with your knuckles at the wall. Come into headstand. Put your bum on the wall and lift your head up and take your shoulders forward. Repeat 10 times. Move your ground dragging knuckles a fraction of an inch further from the wall each time you come into the pose.

Next up, come into the beginning of a head stand pose about a legs distance from the wall. Take it up, lift your head off the mat, and then let your feet go back to the wall. 

Now start using those muscles we just warmed up, and take your shoulders forward. As you do this, let your feet come down the wall. 

I like to gently (and I mean gently) bounce. My feet sort of bump their way pleasantly down the wall an inch or two each time, as my shoulders stretch forward.  

When you can feel it in the front of your chest/shoulder area hold for 10 breaths. 

Consistence And Persistence

Like anything in yoga, it's gonna take continued practice over a long period of time to open those suckers up. But it's time well spent. 

Back to the intro of this post. If you are starting out (by starting out I mean less than 5 years or so) then do yourself a favor and start this now. It's one of those things I wish I'd started much earlier, and it's going to be the same for you. 

Sure, there are flashy poses to explore, but I promise you this...the sooner you can open them shoulders, the sooner the really advanced stuff will come.

Prep time is now. J

Age Old Secret To Floating Forward Finally Revealed

So you are in down dog, about to come to standing forward fold (uttanasana) and the instructor gives the cue to "exhale and silently, without making a single sound float forward".

Now how many times has the teacher told you just how exactly this aerial, gravity defying feat of ninja stealth is performed?

A ...BIG ...Fat ...Zero...that's how many.

Fortunately, in your quest to self-empower your own yoginess, you have stumbled upon the right place. where this age old secret, previously known to only a select few, will now be revealed to the whole world. Drum roll...

<whispered silently> the next time you attempt to float forward, try landing on your heels.

Yep, that's it. And it works gangbusters.

You see, it's really hard to land on your heels. But the real secret, is that the very thought of landing on your heels makes you feel icky. You don't want to do that.

And in attempting to avoid this unpleasantness, you will do anything not to land on your heels, including hovering your feet magically above your wrists. True story.

So while you won't land on your heels, you will gain the much sought after air time.  And to the delight of your teacher (who still hasn't told you the secret to doing this), you will touch down like a feather on a pillow.

Soft landings, J

6 Reasons Yogis Will Survive The Zombie Apocalypse

You are running late for class, nothing...including zombie hoards, are gonna make you late.

Zombies can't smell human flesh because of the incense being burnt during class.

The incense burns out and Zombies invade class during savasnasa. The hoard moves on to the Maccas across the road where there's lots of human action/food.

You've got your brand new Lululemon threads on, no way are you letting a zombie get them dirty.

Your studio has those traditional wooden blocks which are heavy and hard. The instructor breaks class for just one minute while you all deal with the zombie hoard. Then you are gonna workshop funky pincha. Funtimes.

Everybody has run out of petrol (and is getting eaten by zombies) but your Prius Hybrid still has plenty of juice to get you to class.

How To Use Your Selfie Stick While Doing Pincha

Seriously?

Come into sukhasana and meditate on that title for 10 mins.

Kirk out

Alarte Ascendare - How To Kick Up Into A Handstand

Today's post is gonna be quick and concise so listen up.

You are in an L position. Both hands on the floor, one foot on the floor and one foot raised behind you, ready to kick into handstand.

Now think about this next sentence: If, when you kick up, your standing leg goes backwards, then you should rethink your approach to kicking up (I wanna say you are doing it wrong but there is a time for just kicking up which I'll cover in another post). Anyway...

Try this to engage your core, and to prep yourself for lifting yourself into a handy...

Get back into your L position, ready to kick up. Place a block on the narrow side (so it is vertically high) 1 cm in front of your standing leg big toe...or second toe if you have those mutant feet with the second toe the longest. Whatever.

Anyhow, the block is 1 cm in front of your standing leg toes. Now when you kick up into handstand, your challenge is to kick the block over with your standing leg. What?!?!

Yep, kicking forward with your standing leg will force you to engage and lift from your core, which will magically improve your handstand.

Don't be a smart asana and try to kick forward then backwards. Do it proper.

If you watch how all the handstand gurus lift up (notice the lift not the kick...this is important) their standing leg comes forward.

Interestingly, slow lifts into handy involve guru feet coming forward not springing backwards for more momentum.

Don't believe me? Check out 'handstand press' on youtube.

Guaranteed guru core is engaged and the whole lift is from there also.

Happy handies, J

Move Your Asana, Move Your Focus...Better Balancing Part 3

Let's break down focus and balancing poses.

Number one, focus then lift your leg, not the other way around. Better still, don't focus first and see how you go. Do it a couple of times. Now try it the other way around. Enough said.

Ok, you've focused and lifted the leg. Now chances are that your initial focus point isn't suitable for the pose you are going into (the teacher has just told you to lift your leg...but you focused then lifted).

Now she says to grab your foot with your opposite hand and straighten your leg. So you know you need to move your focus. Here's how the cool kids roll...

Don't move your gaze from the front all the way around to the back.

Do, move your eyes only, and pick a spot on the floor or wall that is in the direction where your eventual focus will be. Keep looking at the spot and move your head until the spot is just about to go out of view.

Move your eyes only and pick another spot in the direction of your eventual focus. Keep looking at the spot and move your head again until the spot is nearly out of view.

Repeat this until your focus is where it needs to be. 

Remember, focus, lift leg, move eyes, move head, move eyes, move head. Come out the opposite way.

Happy balancing, J

9 Reasons Yogis Fail Reality TV

1. Your OM chanting lacks X-factor.

2. You can't afford Kim Kardashian's new yoga line, with booty enhancing pants for only $599.

3. Your yoga block house fell down.

4. Yoga didn't half your body weight in under 12 weeks.

5. The token yoga guy at your studio is actually interested in what you think AND he's married (bummer).

6. You get together with all your yoga classmates to work out a stellar beach flow when you all find yourselves magically stranded on a tropical island.

7. Nobody from class will vote out the yogi who can't do ardha chandrasana.

8. Watching a room full of people sitting still for minutes on end using a hidden camera is dead boring.

9. "Not bacon" fails the meat dish category you have to cook.

Never Ever Stand on a Yoga Mat

If every time you place your hands or feet on a yoga mat, and you're not gripping that sucker like your life depended on it, you are doing your yoga practice a huge dis-service.

All the arm balancing gurus say the same thing, "Claw into your mat".

It's for balance and control.

Death grip = controlled poses.
Weak grip = weak pose.

Same for standing balances, get a vice like grip with your feet on the mat. How so? Pretend your foot is your hand. Dig those toes in.

When you do, you'll feel stronger in the pose and balance for longer.

You'll have solid standing balance transitions.

Pada or hasta...never just stand on a yoga mat.

Home Practice 101

Home practice can be daunting (sometimes). What to do?

General vs Specific Practice

Let's break it down into two categories: general and specific.

General is a bit of everything: forward bends, back bends, side bends, standing poses, one leg balances, arm balances, hip and shoulder openers.

Specific is say when you want to work on your back bends because they are your weakest category of Asana (and you should be specifically practicing your weakest areas).

When to Practice Specifically

Yoga classes tend to be general. So if you are hitting the mat in class a couple of times per week, then you've got this covered. Supplement this general practice with specific home practice in your weakest area(s).

Create an A4 page of 10 stick figures targeting your weakest areas. Make sure to work upwards in difficulty. 

Practice the poses a couple of times each, going deeper each time. Remember, you are trying to gain in strength and flexibility or to balance better, so repetition is key.

When to Practice Generally

If you aren't getting to class enough, then you need to run through a general practice at home.

Bang out some Suri A, B and C. Add in some standing and balancing poses, and finish with some back and front bends. 

30 - 45 mins and you are done and dusted. No biggie. Keep it simple. Maybe write it down to keep you honest and on track.

Always Finish Hungry for More

When I boxed, the trainer would always finish us off when we were still hungry for more training. This kept the training interesting and us coming back. Same with a home yoga practice. 

Keep it tight and practice generally or specifically depending on your class attendance. Happy times, J