One Love Yoga - Handstand Press Tutorial - With Michael Samadhi
Handstand Press Tutorial
In this article, we will discuss fundamentals to work towards the yoga handstand press. In the practice of yoga, I prefer to use slow, steady, and graceful movements, rather than more abrupt motions. The press is an evolution over a kick-up or jump up and I will offer the steps to progress towards this motion in this tutorial.
Warm Up
One of the most important aspects of the press is to ensure that the shoulders are in front of the wrists. To achieve this, it’s absolutely essential to cultivate flexibility in the fingers and wrists.
Place both sets of hands facing backwards towards the knees and make a circular motion with the body. Move in clockwise circles for 5-10 repetitions and counterclockwise circles for 5-10 repetitions.
Next, sit the pelvis back towards the heels and allow the palms to rise up off the mat. Turn the pits of the elbows forward as you stretch deeply into the hands and fingers.
Another important exercise to achieving a graceful press is to warm up the hamstrings with a forward bend. It’s interesting to note that hamstring flexibility is essential for the press because the feet must be close to the hands for the weight to shift forward so the feet can gracefully leave the ground.
Come to a long spine and flat back as you stretch into the hamstrings, meanwhile also stretching through the forearms wrists by turning the fingers back to face the toes.
Now stretch through the top of the wrists by placing the palms of the hands under the feet. You may bend the knees if the hamstrings are tight. Bend the elbows and release the elbows back toward the shins; this will help stretch more deeply into the cartilage of the wrists.
Preparing for the Press
Next, turn the fingers forward and bring the shoulders in front of the wrists. Raise the heels up and use the pressure on the balls of the feet to rock the weight forward and back, becoming lighter and lighter on the feet.
Experiment with pulling up and in to the core of the body and allow the feet to rise up off the mat completely, finding 1-2 seconds with the feet rising off the ground. For beginners, simply repeat this motion again and again to strengthen the core and build strength in the arms. Simply performing this motion is a very good exercise.
Moving into the Press
As the strength in the core and arms grows, you will eventually use the muscles of the abdomen and lower back to lift the legs in a slow and deliberate way. There’s immense joy in the control of a slow and steady movement, and savor the entire journey into the fuller expression of handstand.
Eventually the legs will straighten completely. Find the lightness in the pose. When you’ve mastered the balance, the body will feel light and free. There will be no shaking of the arms or tension. You will learn to shift the weight into the fingers and back into the palms as the dynamics of maintaining the pose requires. There is subtle mastery to be found in using micro-adjustments of the balance as the weight shifts around the hands. Stay present and remain focused on the maintenance of slow and steady breath.