This Strong-Core Move Makes Pressing to Handstand Possible
The quest to press into Handstand can look like a lifelong journey for most of us, but Primal Yoga creator Liz Arch is full of game-changing tricks. Use this creative drill to refine your core strength—then practice your press.
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The quest to press into Handstand can look like a lifelong journey for most of us, but Primal Yoga creator Liz Arch is full of game-changing tricks. Use this creative drill to refine your core strength—then practice your press.
1. Start in Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend), with your butt pressed against a sturdy wall.
2. Plant your palms directly beneath your shoulders, spread your fingers wide, and activate Hasta Bandha (or the energy lock in your hands) by energizing your finger pads while creating an upward lift through the centers of your palms.
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3. On an inhalation, lift your torso parallel to the floor, lengthening through your spine. Softly lift your gaze and lengthen through the crown of your head.
4. At the bottom of your next exhalation, shift your weight forward (your shoulders will shift slightly forward of the wrists) and push the floor away, rooting strongly through your thumb and index finger. Engage your lower abdominals and Mula Bandha, or the energy lock at your pelvic floor, lift up onto the balls of your feet, and try to slide your hips as high up the wall as they’ll go while actively pressing down through your palms.
5. Take an inhalation. On your next exhalation, hover both feet simultaneously off the floor as you continue to slide your hips up the wall and actively press the floor away through your palms.
6. Hover for 3 to 5 breaths.
7. Finally, release back into Prasarita Padottanasana.
Incorporate this drill into your weekly practice, and pressing into Handstand will soon become part of your repertoire!
