Musings from a life learning yogini

Here it is! There are two handstand series options this year, one for my usual weekend folks and one for the folks who can’t do weekends. If you’re wondering about or contemplating signing up for the series, but aren’t sure about something, such as whether you need to be able to go upside down or have a certain level of flexibility before you can sign up, or are terrified of falling etcetera, let’s talk! I’ve had all those questions (and types of students) before and what might be really helpful is getting more information or talking to a past/current student who was concerned about the same things you are now.

 

I also do handstand privates if there’s something you aren’t comfortable learning in a group setting or if you need more time than a group class allows for. Especially when learning to fall out of handstand, the extra time can get you to the next level or if there’s repetitive adjustments that require coaching.

Drop-in Summer Handstand Classes here we come! Join me on June 30, July 7 & 14 from 11am-12:30pm (right after I teach 9:30-10:30am Power @ YYOGA NSE) on the grass field right beside beside Lynn Valley Elementary School on Mountain Highway. No cost, everyone welcome. Come with kids, come with babies, come with neighbours, parents or friends. We’ll warm up and do some hand standing!! These classes ARE weather dependent. I may also do a few more classes like this in late August, but we’ll start here for now.

The 2pm class is full, so I added a 12:30pm class. I LOVE handstands, so it excites me no end that others love them too. 🙂 Only 4 spots left in the 12:30pm class, so if you’re interested, let me know STAT!

When people sign up for my series, I often get asked “What can I do to prepare?” Historically I have answered that as long as you practice flow or power yoga, you’ve got enough of a base. However, I’ve got one more strength builder to recommend (it’s not necessary in order to start the series, but you’ll be farther ahead in your handstand practice than you would be without doing the below) and some stretches.

This is a GREAT strengthener. Walk up the wall as far as you can/as far as feels safe (you are NOT going far enough to fall) and hold as long as feels safe (come down BEFORE you’re exhausted because you still need enough oomph to walk your hands out). Build to a 1-min hold. Do this 10x/day, 5-days/week. Thanks for the song recommendation Chris!

Shoulder flexibility is necessary in order to handstand. There are a number of different shoulder stretches you can do, so if you have fave’s by all means use them, but Gomukhasana arms (below) and down dog are my favourite ways to open my shoulders.

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Splits are also SUPER important for handstands. You need flexibility to prevent injury while learning to fall out of handstand. You need left and right and straddle splits to cartwheel, which we do every class in the series. You need left and right splits to find balance on your hands (like holding your arms out for balance on a tightrope). You need open inner thighs (thus straddle splits) to straddle press, which is easier than pike press, and you need VERY open hamstrings to pike press to handstand. So, practice your splits leading up to the series.

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And last but not least, wrist range. You need it to stand on your hands, so stretch your wrists leading up to the series!

Our Northshore handstand community is building! SO fun. By request, here are the dates, time and location for the next series. Send me an email for more information!