Handstand
Adho Mukha VrksasanaThe full inversion balanced on straight arms with the body stacked over the hands. The benchmark of upper-body strength and balance in practice.
- 01Plant the hands shoulder-width, fingers spread, a short distance from a wall.
- 02Step into a short lunge with the hips high over the shoulders.
- 03Kick the top leg up and float the second to meet it.
- 04Press the floor away and reach tall through the heels.
- 05Stack wrists, shoulders, hips, and heels in one vertical line.
- 01Push the floor away through the whole hand.
- 02Stack hips over shoulders over wrists.
- 03Reach the heels to the ceiling, ribs in.
- 01Bananas backbend through the spine — knit the ribs in and lengthen the tailbone.
- 02Shrugging into the shoulders — press up and out of them.
- 03Kicking too hard past vertical — kick lightly and find the stack.
Note: Reference material, not a prescription. Load, volume and whether this movement suits you at all depends on your assessment — if something hurts, stop and get it looked at.