Whip Six Womens Active Running, Triathlon, Cyclist Apparel

Handstands. One of those cool moves you see gorgeous yogis doing and wish that you could do it even half as good.

Balancing on hands, being confident enough to actually pull your legs all the way and go for it, and then the art of holding it longer than a mili-second once you do actually kick up? It’s tough!

But handstand are something I have set my goals at getting better at.

And I want to do them right.

This past Saturday my friend Ashton and I headed to Charleston Power Yoga, located Downtown Charleston on King Street.

My favorite yoga instructor, Bethany Bubenzer was holding a 2 hour handstand clinic and since I was in town, I signed up. Then I convinced Ashton to be my partner in crime (it didn’t take much convincing, she’s always up for fitness adventures)!

Source: Bethany’s Instagram. Quick side note, Bethany has actually been a guest on the LR Podcast!

Over the 2 hours we learned several trips and tricks to help gain confidence, strength and the fundamental know-how so that we could EVENTUALLY master the handstand.

Bethany was pretty clear from the get go, letting all of us know that a single 2 hour class wasn’t going to have you looking like Briohny Smythe.

I thought you guys might be interested in what we learned?

But first…

Why Do Handstands In The First Place?

1. They’re fun! Doing handstands reminds me of being a kid at recess and playing with friends. It’s liberating and a great reminder we don’t have to do everything standing so tall all the time. Let your hair down, and kick your legs up! Even at 30, my friends and clients and I will do handstand contest to see who can stay up the longest. Yup, I played the same game when I was 10. We’re all just kids at heart. Yes?
2. They’re an amazing upper body exercise. Keeping all the weight on your hands puts tremendous pressure on the joints, stabilizer muscles, core, upper back, and shoulders. It’s a great way to build overall strength and joint stability. Want some sexy shoulders without equipment? Handstands can help!
3. They’ll increase balance. It’s a no brainer right? But what isn’t a no brainer is how unbalanced we are as a culture. Having balance keeps the body in alignment, teaches you how your body works and allows you to better control it. Balance is essential to overall health, don’t neglect it! Even if you start by just standing on one leg.
4. They can make you feel better! When you invert yourself blood rushes to the brain. This rapid rush can increase mood, decrease anxiety, and yield a calming effect. It can also help decrease the stress hormone cortisol (which is linked to increase fat storage).
5. Increase grip strength. As a kettlebell enthusiasts, this is a big bonus. To maintain a handstand, you should be using your fingers to “dig into the ground”. Push through the finger tips to control the hold and while doing so, you’re building forearm and grip strength. Obviously this is something that is essential for kettlebell improvement as you increase your weight! Grip is often the first thing to go. So basically handstands are helping me be better at my sport!

Okay… so now tips on handstand progression.

Handstand Progressions

Here’s Bethany’s #1 tip regarding handstands…

Basically… practice makes perfect.

Don’y worry, that’s not all we learned.

It’s easier to balance a wooden ruler than cooked noodle, right? Of course it is, the rigidity of the ruler allows for the center of gravity to be found and then locked into place for balance. A strong, tight body is one that is able to be balanced.

This is by far the hardest element for me to grasp due to years of gymnastics. My toes automatically want to point to the sky.

But we learned that when you point your toes, the squads tighten more than the hamstrings and create a natural pull that makes it harder to hold. For that reason, yogis, flex their feet.

This is the lesson that really stuck with Ashton, which I love because now when we practice, she keeps asking, “are your shoulders rotated?”

The body can create torque and torque allows for more stable movements of both muscles and joints. This is why when doing squats you push the knees out while lowering down (and keep the feet pointed straight ahead). The same idea for the shoulders for the strongest possible hold.

Now it’s time to start practicing! Sit on the ground with your back up against a wall and legs out straight. Mark where your heels are. This is where your hands will go.

Now, slowly walk your feet up a wall until they are even with your hips and lock them straight. Your shoulders will be slightly forward and your head looking a little in front.

What does this do?

It helps to keep your core engaged and you back straight. How many times have you tried a handstand and ended up arching like crazy? This helps teach how to NOT do that!

Okay, so how to get up in the sky? Of course you can do it against a wall for comfort but that’s up to you.

• Start in downward dog. Slowly walk your feet in towards your hands as much as you can.
• Keep the neck straight by lifting the head slightly to look a few inches in front of your hands.
• Lift one heel as high as possible (the leg is straight and foot is flexed).
• Go up on tippy toe of your grounded foot, slightly bend it and bounce up driving your lifted leg up to handstand, and keeping your other leg in a “stag” position to help balance. Both feet are flexed.
• Practice, practice, practice!

Cool stuff, right?

It was so much fun and I was squeezing my body tight in places I’m not sure I’ve squeezed before! I even mentioned to Ashton I wasn’t going to be surprised if I was sore the next day. Luckily, I wasn’t but I didn’t feel some fatigued muscles!

Oh one last tip…

We also practiced with our hands on blocks. Simply because it’s harder. Practice with something harder, then doing it the “normal” way doesn’t seem so bad! And, if you practice against a well, move back from time to time to gain confidence and independence from it!

So that was that… if you’re in Charleston definitely check out the clinics coming up! I would highly recommend the handstand clinic!

Whip Six Feed