Arm balances are the result of focused attention, correct alignment and lots of practice. Flying, floating, and inverting can be one of the most exciting parts of a yoga class and are most times the peak posture. Not only are they fun, but arm balances have many health benefits. Whether you're working on arm balances for your instagram page or to deepen your yoga practice, these 5 tips will help you take it to the next level.
1. Core Strength
Hold plank! The more we can learn to engage and strengthen our core, the more this will come naturally when we are upside down. Learning to activate the core will take you leaps and bounds in arm balancing. Hold plank and side planks for at least 30 seconds per day.
2. Increase Shoulder Mobility + Stabilization
Dolphin pose is great way to build strength for pincha mayurasana arm balance. From down dog, come down to the forearms and press your palms flat. Externally rotate the upper arm bones and press the floor away. Ground your heals down and melt the chest back toward your thighs. Hold for one minute or as long as you can!
3. Building Control
Try chaturanga push-ups with the knees up or down. Start from plank, hug the elbows in by the rib cage and lower half way down with the elbows over the wrists. Make sure the core remains tight and the shoulders are drawing back, then press back up to plank. For an easier modification, drop the knees down. Do 20-30 of these per day.
4. Improve Wrist Flexibility
Stretching and building strength in your wrists is extremely important in arm balances and handstands. Start in a table top on your hands and knees. Lean forward and back to feel a stretch, make circles with your shoulders around your wrists, then rotate your palms up and repeat. You can also turn the hands outward and backward. Spend 5 minutes per day giving your wrists some love!
5. Counterbalance + Weight Distribution
Start to feel where the weight needs to go. Practice with a block under your feet in crow pose and begin to lean forward. Put the weight in the middle of the hand where the base of the fingers meet the palm. Lean forward and back 10 times until you get a feel for the counterbalance.