Hip-Stretching Handstand

I honestly don't even know what the name of this pose is. I'll tell you about how I came into it though!

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My journey into this pose started after taking a class as part of the yoga teacher training and certification program I'm in. It was a tech session about the hips; in it we learned some stretches and poses that are good for opening up and increasing flexibility in the hips.

I'm pretty flexible overall (not as much as I wish-yet), but I have always been a little more tight in my hips, so I was super excited to take home a few new tricks and tuck them into my regular practice. The one in particular that led me to this handstand has a few variations. I'll explain all of them, because I think that performing these poses chronologically is a good way to warm yourself up for the main one. It's also a good way to judge how capable of getting into the pose you are.

Keep in mind that if you are practicing yoga, you should listen to the signals your body is sending you and not push yourself beyond the point of getting a gentle stretch. Yoga should not sting or feel painful. Recognize the limits of your body in the current moment and respect them. You'll be less prone to injury that way.

The first pose starts with you lying on the ground. Bend both of your knees so that your feet are lying flat on the floor. Then, cross your left leg over the right, with your left ankle resting on your right quadricep, just below the knee. You can gently push against your left knee with your hand, too, if you like. Already you should feel a stretch in your left hip.

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To take the stretch a little further, clasp your hands behind your right thigh and pull your right leg closer to you. Make sure to keep your back on the floor and your hips as level as they were when you were laying flat on the ground.

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Additionally, you could straighten your right leg and hold onto your big toe or foot. Going this far is a little hard for me, mostly because my hamstrings aren't flexible enough to quite pull it off comfortably.

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So that's the lying down version of the pose. The other version is standing.

Start standing upright, with your feet about shoulder width apart. Bend your right knee and pull your foot up so that your ankle is crossed over your quadricep and above your left knee, just like when you were laying down.

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Next, slowly fold forward as you bend your left knee and lower your hands to the ground. The goal is to have the top of your right foot curled around your left tricep and your right knee pressed into your right tricep. This is how you'll manage to keep your hips propped up in the air.

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The thing about most handstands and inversions in general is that they require a lot of core strength, whereas this is a pose where you can get away with a little more for a little less.

Fingers splayed wide and palms pressing firmly into the floor, begin to shift your weight onto your hands until you can lift your left foot off of the ground and balance comfortably. Your triceps will definitely feel some pressure in this pose, as most of your body weight is pressing directly into them.

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I was practicing the pose I just explained when my left leg slipped out and I regained my balance with it extended. So really it was by accident that I found myself in the pose in the first picture! I'm glad I did; I think this pose looks really cool. The fun thing about it is that it looks pretty impressive but in reality it's not as hard to do as you'd think.

Things to Work On

As far as trying to get better at this pose, I would want to work on straightening my back. There are a few ways to do that. One, focus on increasing the flexibility in my hips so I can sink deeper into the stretch. Two, raise my extended leg higher in the air. Doing so would automatically make the lunge in my legs a little deeper and pull my spine in such a way that it straightens itself. All in all, I feel pretty pleased with myself for making it this far and having a vision for where I want to be in the future.

Thanks for reading! What are some of your favorite yoga poses? Is there anything in particular that you're working on? I'd love to hear. =)

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@mad.dawg