Wall Drills To Progress In Handstand

Wall Drills to Progress in Handstand

Adho Mukha Vrksasana

WALL DRILLS TO PROGRESS IN HANDSTAND

Wall drills for Handstand are an excellent way to master the mechanics required to go upside down with confidence. Using the wall as a support to refine alignment, rather than as a crutch to neglect technique, is vital to the development of the pose.

In this case, using a wall as a prop may appear to be counterintuitive, but it actually helps us set up a firm foundation for the hands, shoulders, rib cage, and hips. These are the important pieces of the puzzle that will ultimately take us away from the wall and help us to stand tall (on our hands of course).  

It’s true that we learn how to isolate the actions for each body part, but it’s the layering on of each action that locks each piece into place in order for our handstand to become a firm unit.

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PRIORITIZE THE RIB CAGE

Matt teaches us that the area we need to prioritize when it comes to balancing in Handstand is the rib cage. More than just stacking the hips over the shoulders, getting the rib cage vertical first is actually more important because it provides the control required.

One of the wall drills Matt demonstrates to assist with this technique is the Pike Switch with a chair and a number of yoga blocks.

The first step is to push through the shoulders for increased scapular mobility, which will also allow the rib cage to move more freely during the exploration. 

Setting up the lower leg as high as possible (at approximately a 90-degree angle) will assist in alternating the legs with more ease. It’s also important to tap into the sensation of the placement of the ribs between each “switch” of the legs.

WATCH THE VIDEO

WALL DRILLS TO PROGRESS IN HANDSTAND: IMPLEMENT MASTERFUL INVERSION TECHNIQUES

GO FOR THE FLOAT

Just like we layer on each technique within the body, we also layer on more challenges in the wall drills we explore.

Now that we’ve worked on the alignment of the rib cage to create a straight line from the wrists to the shoulders to the hips, we can progress by aiming to find some “float” time in an L-Handstand. Here we take the top foot closer to the wall, but we still work to avoid the common “banana back.” If this is brand new to your practice, you may not be able to avoid tapping the wall with your top foot in the attempt to stay balanced. However, still aim to keep the rib cage vertical, even though the top leg may be on a slight diagonal towards the wall.

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TAKE YOUR FEET TO THE WALL

Matt teaches this drill to help us get a vertical line from the forearms to the rib cage to the knees. The knees are significant here because they are bent, and the feet are actually on the wall. Bending the knees allows us to achieve a vertical line. At this stage, if the legs were straight, we might be more inclined to create more spinal extension.

If we still feel challenged, it may be due to lack of strength in the glutes and core muscles. In the video, Matt lies down in a supine position and then lifts up into a variation of Bridge to help us develop the sensational awareness of glute and core activation simultaneously while taking the arms up overhead. This helps simulate how we would feel in the former wall drill.

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HOP INTO HANDSTAND

Here, we progress into L-Hops by placing one foot on a block that sits directly on the floor. We’re now hopping into balance, with the wall behind us for increased safety. This wall drill can be compared to Kick Switches, the difference being that we keep the same shape and repeat with the same leg for a few rounds, instead of alternating legs. This is a drill to explore once we have found some success with “the float” and of course the stacking of the rib cage. However, there is still room to go further.  

If you’re interested in advancing your practice and/or becoming certified to teach impactful drills like these, then you’ll want to secure your spot in Matt’s upcoming Chromatic Global Training.  

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Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: The Handstand Program 

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Hips and Eka Pada Galavasana

Hips and Eka Pada Galavasana

flying pigeon

HIPS AND EKA PADA GALAVASANA

Depending on where we are in our asana practice journey, arm balances may feel a little overwhelming. It can be difficult to know where to start. Instead of thinking about the final destination, we can benefit from implementing techniques and drills that will support actual transformation and the development of strength, flexibility, and mobility. When it comes to a posture like Eka Pada Galavasana (Flying Pigeon), the spotlight is on our hips. Safely executing the posture requires deep hip opening, which itself requires great care and preparation. Incorporating the techniques Matt teaches in today’s video is the perfect start. However, beyond incorporating the techniques, it’s about HOW we implement them.

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“PUSH AND SUSTAIN”

One of the most impactful statements Matt makes in the full class is “Push and sustain, don’t push and forget.” When he says this, he’s actually referring to a glute activation technique, but his words can be applied generally to how we approach the techniques from today’s video.  

Sometimes we receive cues in a given posture or drill, but we then so easily revert back to what our bodies are used to, something that feels less “strange” or challenging in our bodies.

Eka Pada Galavasana requires hip strength to lock in the open position of the hip in the front leg and the lift from the glutes in the extended back leg. In the breakdown of each posture and technique, we’ll see the importance of finding and sustaining specific activations to increase strength.

WATCH THE VIDEO

HIPS AND GALAVASANA: TECHNIQUES TO UNLOCK THIS ARM BALANCE

GETTING THE HIP FLEXORS ACTIVE

The Lizard Pose variation and techniques Matt offers today are a great way to start the process of activating the muscles of the hips (more specifically, the hip flexors). This is particularly important in the first variation of Eka Pada Galavasana, where Matt demonstrates the “hugging in” of the back leg. We also learn how to “push and sustain” here. The technique that promotes both strength and flexibility is a facilitated stretch, that is, the activation of the muscles we are stretching. In the first variation of Lizard Pose, we use a facilitated stretch to activate the hip flexors by pressing the back knee down and forward. Sustaining the pull forward is the key to the effectiveness of this technique. When this happens, the muscle will release its tension and feel safe to lengthen while simultaneously strengthening. This will help with the hip flexion of the back leg. If we want to extend the back leg in Eka Pada Galavasana, lifting the back leg in Lizard while pulling the ball of the foot forward will also ignite our quadricep muscles. Activating the quadriceps will support the strength of extending the back leg. 

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PRACTICE THE HOOK

Opening our hips is paramount to practicing another important piece of the puzzle: hooking the front foot as high as possible above the triceps on the arm.

With the help of blocks, Matt sets up a Pigeon Pose variation. The blocks are stacked, creating enough height so that we can mimic the “hook” required to keep the foot in place. What actions are needed for this hook? In the ankle, we must dorsiflex and then layer on eversion of the ankle. The height of the block also supports the positioning (flexion) required in the hips.

While all this is happening, we are still encouraging the facilitated stretch of the hip flexors in the back leg.  

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EKA PADA GALAVASANA VARIATIONS

The final preparations for the hips take place while we are practicing the Eka Pada Galavasana variations Matt teaches in the clip. Importance is still placed on activating the front hip while it is in deep external rotation. When setting up for the arm balance, we do this by pressing the shin down into our arms and pulling the back leg forward (facilitated stretch). As we set up the pelvic tilts and the placement of the front leg on the arms, we move towards one of the other extremely important pieces of an arm balance: leaning our body weight forward. Without getting the leg or shin in the right spot, however, we won’t be able to lean forward enough to find our balance.

In his upcoming workshop, Hip Release, Matt shares more insights into creating the required integrity in the hips for other arm balances. 

Register to learn more techniques and tips for your toolkit!

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Article by Trish Curling

Videos Extracted From: Blissful Hips Immersion

lotus pose online yoga classes

ONLINE ANATOMY COURSE

  • Accessible, exciting, and easy to learn
  • Anatomy and biomechanics for yoga
  • Appropriate for both teachers and students
  • Learn joint alignment vs pose alignment
  • Demystify yoga poses and transitions
  • Release aches and pains
  • Learn how to avoid common injuries
  • Caters to all levels with modifications and props
  • 20 hours Continued Education Credits with Yoga Alliance
  • 20 hours toward Chromatic Yoga Certification and 300 Hour
  • Lifetime access

Continue Learning

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BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Congratulations, your 30% discount code has been applied and will be reflected at the very bottom of the checkout page. All Immersions & Immersion Bundles are included in this sale. To get more info on each immersion click on the photo. On Demand and Lifetime Access To all

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