Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Kick-Up Into Handstand (L-Shaped Handstand)


One of the very first handstands you will practice will be the L-Shaped Handstand.  We visit handstands often during our practice - even in the very beginning stages of yoga we work those muscles while in Adho Mukha Svanasana or DownDog.

I offer a few tips in this short video below about how to align the bones before kicking into handstand as well as how we use BOTH legs to kick into handstand.  I highly encourage you to visit my previous post on Divorcing the Wall and learning to Cartwheel out of your Handstand.

This is very helpful when falling into a backbend isn't in your practice.

Just a few Handstand Tips!


  1. Find yourself in Adho Mukha Svanasana.  Be sure your hands are firmly planted with palms suction cupped to your mat.  Spread those fingers wide and ensure your middle finger is pointing to the top of your mat.  You will be using your palms and gripping with fingertips when moving into handstand.  This is your foundation!  Be sure to hug those elbows in toward center or in toward each other - as if a strap were looped around your biceps and triceps keeping your arms from bending outward.  Eye of elbow turned forward to externally rotate your biceps.
  2. Walk your DownDog in so it's quite a bit shorter, look between your thumbs and align or stack your shoulders over your wrists.  Take a tiny step in with your left foot, and raise your right foot.
  3. You are prepared to kick into handstand!  If this feels like a lot right here before kicking - then you will practice this ONLY! Engage the belly - pull your belly button to your spine as well as knit your ribs together - visualize someone tying your lower ribs tight - together.  Also envision your low ribs squeezing down toward your hip bones.  Almost like a 'crunch' when we do our sit ups - but to maintain this firmness in the belly without a rounded back.  
  4. Bending your left leg - you may practice a sort of pulsing the right leg up toward the ceiling - still no kicking yet!  This will help you feel the role of your right leg and how it will kick while the left leg presses against the floor.
  5. Springing from the floor with your left foot AT THE SAME TIME you kick up toward the ceiling with your right foot - Keep the shoulders stacked over wrists.  We don't take Handstand from DownDog - we take it almost from a Forward Fold.
  6. Practice taking 2-3 breaths or more between kicks!  This isn't adult gymnastics - THIS IS YOGA!  Be mindful.  Don't let that ego get in the way.  If you feel that this is very challenging then you will stop at one of the previous steps. Take Childs Pose often as well as some wrist stretches after you practice to protect your wrists and forearms.  Twists and shoulder stretches also help after you practice upper body strength postures such as this.
As you watch my video - you will see i don't have to kick up very hard.  This is key.  I also show how to walk your feet up the wall - facing the wall. A hallway is a great tool to use when facing the wall and walking the feet up into a pike position or an L position.  Holding this handstand alone is a HUGE workout and will prepare you to feel what you need to before kicking up.

If your feet just won't come off the ground - even with a hard kick - then honor that and continue to practice.  Do not injure yourself.  Faith & patience are what yoga is about.  It's seeing how you tend to approach things in life.  Do you push yourself hard enough?  Too hard?  Do you push past injury?  Do you approach the posture one step at a time or all at once?  Are you aware of your breathing or have you stopped?  All questions to ask yourself - especially when practicing a posture that has fear attached and inversions tend to have a lot of FEAR attached.  How do you approach your fears?  If you're unsure how you approach your fears - try yoga!  Ha!  Believe me - it'll help you find yourself and help you to know how to overcome those pesky emotions that block you from joy and happiness. Handstand would be one of those postures.  If handstand just isn't in your practice or may never be because of an injury - then stay tuned as I will try to offer many options for fun inversions that help you overcome your fears!

Thanks for sticking with me & enjoy this short video on how to approach your L-Shaped Handstand and Kick up into it!  More to come!


Happy Practicing!
Namaste,

Jenny

Divorce The Wall - Cartwheel Out of Handstand!

One of the most helpful things I learned to do early in my yoga practice was to cartwheel out of my handstand.  Even if you're super new to yoga or just learning basics - you are learning to eventually balance your weight on your hands!  Someday, in your practice or maybe you're already there - you will feel your body invite you upside down on those hands!  We practice this most commonly in our Sun Salutations as we jump back to Chaturanga or jump forward from Adho Mukha Svanasana (Down Dog) into Uttanasana (Forward Fold).  There will be other times we might visit our handstand as well - Standing Splits, Half Moon are just a few other postures in which we might plant your hands and kick up into handstand moving back into our vinyasa.  If any of these poses sound confusing or you have no idea what I'm talking about - THATS OK!  If you stick with yoga - you will :)

I've posted this very short video to teach you how to tap into that inner child and Cartwheel!  Cartwheel often! The more you practice Cartwheels, the easier it will feel when moving into handstand to feel yourself cartwheel out instead of falling back into a back bend.

In conjuction with this video I will post another short post about kicking up into handstand.  These two practices - kicking into handstand as well as cartwheeling out of handstand are helpful when practiced together.



Happy Practicing!
Namaste,

Jenny

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sunday Meditation - Examine Your Beliefs




  • What do you believe about yourself?
  • What do you believe about others?

Ponder these questions for several minutes.  As you close your eyes and witness the blank screen behind your eyes - perhaps notice the mini movies of your thoughts as they dance across your screen.

Don't hesitate to jot down anything that comes to mind. Make a list perhaps of those beliefs that come to mind.  Perhaps write "I believe..." at the top of a page.  If you find you're struggling to find awareness of your beliefs, ASK your source.  Mine is my Heavenly Father.

Some examples from my own personal meditation this morning...

I believe I don't memorize things easily.     LIE - TEACHERS
I believe my body can't handle running long distances because of the experiences I've had in the past. I believe _______ hates me and thinks I'm strange.     LIE
I believe I'm a teacher
I believe I'm good at organizing.
I believe I'm a good cook.     MOM
I believe my husband loves and supports me.     TRUTH
I believe my Savior is always near.

As you finish your pondering - as these questions below.  Perhaps write in bright bold ink on the line or next to it the label or name for each belief. TRUTH, LIE, MOM, MEDIA, GOD, TEACHERS.  Some of our beliefs were planted in our minds by people - so label those beliefs as well.

  • Are they truths or lies? 
  • Where did this belief come from?

CHALLENGE those beliefs that do not work for you
LET GO of those that do not support & elevate you.

CHOOSE TO BELIEVE differently!  Wow!  Imagine - taking each negative belief - those that do not serve you and writing down the opposite

I AM great at remembering what I learn.
I believe __________ loves me and yearns to know more about me.
I believe my body is teaching me and I am capable of anything!

Finish your meditation by again closing your eyes.  Attach breath to each new belief with your inhale and exhale our what is old, stagnant and doesn't belong.  Let it go with each exhale. 

These long time beliefs may come up again for you - if so, repeat this little exercise.  I have had much success in writing down my experiences each day with meditations.  To express what is in my mind and heart on paper - makes it more tangible - and something I can 'see'.  Our thoughts are not always seen - yet they affect so much of what we DO, which is seen.  Bring them out - those beliefs - shine a big bold light upon them and if those beliefs are light, they'll stay.  If they're dark and yucky, they can't remain, not if you decide to change them by writing a truth - even if, at first, it doesn't seem true. Belief allows manifestation & gives us the power to create & transform who we are.  It is the seed - the beginning and is connected with words such as hope & faith.  The word BELIEVE is powerful.

Happy Sunday 

Namaste,

Jenny