DECEMBER 2017 / 63 / YOGAJOURNAL.COM
4 Once you have found balance, draw your legs together.
Push down into your hands and actively reach up through
your feet and legs. As you hug your legs into the midline,
move your tailbone and the tops of the buttocks toward
your heels. This will introduce length to the lumbar spine.
Draw your low ribs toward your frontal hipbones to
prevent any backbending. Make your body feel like an
inverted Urdhva Hastasana. Grow even taller by reach-
ing your legs strongly up and away from your rooted and
stable palms. Hold for 5–8 breaths. To release, step your
right foot down, then your left, and take Pada Hastasana
(Foot-to-Hand Pose) to stretch your wrists.Story originally published in Yoga Journal, June 2015.STAY SAFE
In Handstand, distribute the weight evenly
from your outer palms to your inner palms by
pressing equally into the mounds at the base
of each fi nger. Avoid cupping your hands so
that there is no unnecessary compression in
your outer wrists. Keep your upper arms fi rm
and your elbows straight to prevent buckling
and instability. Reach up strongly through
your feet, legs, and tailbone while engag-
ing your core, so that you do not dump into
your low back, creating “banana back” and
compression in your lower spine. Practice at
a wall until you are comfortable being upside
down. When practicing without a wall, start
by bringing the second leg no higher than
parallel to the fl oor—it will act as an anchor
and prevent you from falling over into a
backbend.