Australian Yoga Journal — January 2018

HANDSTAND KICK-UPS

THE HANDSTAND (ADHO MUKHA VRKSASANA)

Once you’ve mastered all of the above

you‘ll be conditioned to do handstands so

much easier. In the handstand, the use of

the finger tips, wrist and forearm muscles is

huge. Try to use the fingertips and the heel

of the hand to stop the feet moving forward

or backwards, to help you balance. Ensure

you’re also doing the shoulder stabilising

cues - dish pose with your core - and

squeeze the glutes and adductors so the legs

are solid. Once you’ve done this then the

finger tips and wrists will be able to move

your body back into alignment (over your

shoulders and wrists) so you don’t fall.

Note: use a wall and always practice good

form with a neutral spine. Try not to get into

the habit of a banana back when holding

the handstand. Open the shoulders, build

scapula mobility and stability, work on

forearm and hand strength and nail that dish!

These are great fun to practice outside

on the beach to see if you can get a bit of

hang time before you bust it out in a busy

class. Start with the key alignment of the

shoulders:

1. Hug thumbs to centre


2. Push the floor away


3. Wrap the triceps back


4. Broaden the collarbones
   Without getting too anatomically geeky,
   the above cues are designed to turn on
   all the muscles that stabilise the shoulder
   under load. When you kick up, use the
   upper leg to lean and propel you up
   rather than jumping with the bottom leg.
   Ensure you’re bracing your core like the
   dish pose and in this variation, keep the
   lower leg bending into the chest to
   ensure you don’t kick too far over.

30

january 2018

yogajournal.com.au

Important Note: when the arms are above the head such as in handstand or even downward dog, the scapula upward rotates so that the

humerus bones articulate better with the glenoid fossa (shoulder joint). In simple terms, the shoulder blade turns up so the head of the arm bone

can press into the shoulder socket better (more stability = less chance of injury). The shoulder girdle should lift, not draw down the back when the

arms are above the head. The scapula should be encouraged to upward rotate, not downward rotate, while the arms are above the head under

load. This is something commonly practiced incorrectly in yoga circles. You should stabilise the shoulder blades by using muscles that draw the

shoulder blade down the back, but the scapula should stay in an upward rotated position (not downward rotated). Even in a pose like Warrior 1

you can practice this upward rotation of the shoulder blades and lift of the shoulder girdle whilst not under load. A simple cue or teaching tip is to

lengthen the outer border of your shoulder blade while drawing the inner border down your back, then lift the whole shoulder girdle but keep

the back of the neck long.