Handstand: Adho Mukha Vrksasana

Recently, I have been obsessed with the handstand, not because I am good at it but I can finally grasp the techniques and internalise it after weeks of futile attempts to kick and eventually land with my back crashing against the wall. To avoid that, the idea is to get the spine to be flat (notably the lower back) with bones stacked on top of each other by activating the posterior pelvic tilt so the muscles don’t have to do as much work. Here’s how you will look in a standing posture.
Flat back
Before going up into this pose, prep yourself by awakening all of your abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, hip-flexors, shoulder, upper back and gluts with the following:
– Strengthen the core with Navasana (Boat Pose)
– Flatten the lower back in Purvottanasana, in this pose, the gluts help to tilt the hips and the abs are what help to flex the spine (opposite of spinal extension; arching)
– Open up the hips in Virabhadrasana 3 (Warrior 3)
– Stretch the Subscapularis in Garudasana (Eagle’s pose)
– Connect your hands with Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog)
– Establish balance in Utthita Trikonasana
One tip that I personally find useful is to first move the shoulders directly over the wrists, stare slightly forward at the floor between the hands before you start kicking your way up with your front knee close to your chest. Here’s more techniques to share:
Handstand
Stay positive, have fun and don’t forget to breathe! Namaste.
handstand2
Shirley Ang (200hr YTT weekend class)
Ref: http://www.yogaworksblog.com/2014/01/09/breaking-down-the-pose-handstand/