Handstand prep yoga
You never forget your first handstand.
The first time I kicked up and held a handstand was for less than a second, but the thrill of it was huge. I was living at Kripalu in the Berkshires and taking a couple of yoga classes a day. That being said, a couple Kripalu classes isn't exactly a sweat-fest. Handstands are few and far between in Kripalu's group classes. I don't remember why I was kicking up, I just remembered that it worked and it was a-ma-zing. And then I promptly told everyone that I held a handstand. So much for destroying the ego.
This week, I've been teaching classes on how to engage your bandhas to help find flight. The sequence doesn't actually require you to do any handstands-- just to find that sense of lift. I give time at the end to play around with the double leg jump up, but it's not the main point.
Here are some parts of the handstand lift-off sequence. Maybe the flight be with you!
The first time I kicked up and held a handstand was for less than a second, but the thrill of it was huge. I was living at Kripalu in the Berkshires and taking a couple of yoga classes a day. That being said, a couple Kripalu classes isn't exactly a sweat-fest. Handstands are few and far between in Kripalu's group classes. I don't remember why I was kicking up, I just remembered that it worked and it was a-ma-zing. And then I promptly told everyone that I held a handstand. So much for destroying the ego.
This week, I've been teaching classes on how to engage your bandhas to help find flight. The sequence doesn't actually require you to do any handstands-- just to find that sense of lift. I give time at the end to play around with the double leg jump up, but it's not the main point.
Here are some parts of the handstand lift-off sequence. Maybe the flight be with you!
- Meditation, body scan, dirgha pranayama
- Coming onto back, massaging lower back with leg rolls
- 10-15 minutes of core work, focus on uddiyana bandha
- Boat-half boat-boat with Lion's Breath
- Roll to Table
- Cat/cow with focus on how tail bone and chin move at same time and to the same degree
- 2 Sun Salutation As
- 2 Sun Salutation As with pause in Forward Fold. Take hands fully to earth and come onto tippy toes (keep legs straight if you can)-- about 1.5-2 feet between hands and feet. Pretend you can lift both of your feet off of the floor at once to feel uddiyana bandha.
- 2 Sun Salutation As with Crow Pose thrown in instead of the forward fold with uddiyana
- 2 Sun Salutations with "Donkey kicks"- starting to feel flight
- Malasana squat
- Malasana with twists, option to bind
- Wrist stretches
- Downward Dog
- 3-5 knee to nose in plank
- High lunge
- Warrior III
- Revolved balancing half moon
- Standing splits
- Vinyasa
- Repeat steps 14-20 on other side
- Play with double-leg kick up into handstand! Take 5 minutes.
- Child's pose
- Leg's up the wall pose
- 10 minutes restorative, grounding stretches
- Savasana
