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BONUS: Handstand Exercises
From Yoga Strength Foundations by Danique Hanson

This week we are going to focus on exercises to build strength, ability and confidence when doing a handstand.
In the video I will show you how to kick up to a wall supported handstand, as well as how to walk up the wall to a wall supported handstand facing the wall, then a demo of each of the exercises for the week.
Check out the handstand tips in the FAQ section!

There a 5 exercises this week, please work to your own ability and stay safe in your practice!
If you find you can only do one or two, you can always come back to these exercises as your confidence grows

EXERCISE ONE - FITBALL PIKES
These are a great core exercise, and they also help build the strength in your shoulders and back that you need to support your body in a handstand
The difficulty of these can be varied by the size of fitball you use. Smaller balls will be much harder, so if you are a beginner, start out with a bigger ball!
Get into a plank position with your hands on the floor, shoulder width apart, and your feet on the fitball. Your feet should be touching.
Now, while keeping your feet in place, roll the ball towards your head, while raising your hips into the air and keeping your legs straight.
This is all about your core, so engage those muscles to make it happen!
Come as high as you can, and then roll back out to you original plank position - this is one rep
I recommend 3 sets of 10 reps for this one - it is quite a workout on the abs, because you are not only using your core to life your self into the handstand pike position, but also to stabilise yourself on the fitball.
If you are a beginner, try starting with one set of 10 reps, and working up to 2, then 3 sets.

EXERCISE TWO - DONKEY KICK WALL BUM TAPS
This exercise help you get a feel for how hard you have to kick up in order to reach a bent knee pike handstand position & also great to practice balancing.
Start with your hands about 3 or 4 inches form the wall in a crouched position and donkey to a pike handstand, tapping your bum on the wall, then coming back to your original crouching position
Once you get a feel for where the wall is, start trying to donkey kick up into your handstand pike position without making contact with the wall, and coming back down to your starting position
Once you are feeling confident, you can start trying to hold for a few seconds, hovering in the handstand tuck position before you come back down
I would recommend doing 4 sets of 10 of these whenever you get a free minute! (They're actually really fun!)

EXERCISE THREE - WALL SUPPORTED HANDSTAND HOLD PYRAMID
This exercise is exactly what it sounds like - a pyramid of handstand holds!
I encourage you to do this facing the wall (by walking your feet up the wall) as it encourages better alignment - but if this makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, feel free to do then with your back to the wall
The goal is to perform one set of to following;
15 second hold / 30 second hold / 45 second hold / 60 second hold / 45 second hold / 30 second hold / 15 second hold
With a recovery of 30 - 45 seconds in between each hold.
If 15 seconds is your current max hold, do 5 sets of 15 sec holds
If 30 seconds is your current max hold, do two rounds of a 15/30/15 pyramid
If 45 seconds is your current max hold, use a 15/30/45/30/15 pyramid
REMEMBER - during your holds you have the wall for support so you can concentrate on your form - clench your butt, engage your core, tense your legs and send all of your energy shooting out of your toes up toward the sky

EXERCISE FOUR - WALL SUPPORTED HANDSTAND SHOULDER TAPS
This one is one of my favourites - so good for strength building!
Again, I recommend performing this one facing the wall, but you can also do it with your back to the wall if that is feels more available to you.
Come into a wall supported handstand and shift your weight so that it al all in one arm, once you feel safe, lift the other arm, and tap your shoulder, then come back to a normal handstand position, and repeat on the other side
The goal is to do a minute of shoulder taps, but this is quite a strong exercise, so starting out just doing a few taps on each side is great!
Even one tap! Work your way up

EXERCISE FIVE - BLOCK SQUEEZE HANDSTAND
This is for those of you who are feeling strong and confident enough to come away from the wall!
Place a yoga block in between your thighs, and donkey kick up into a tucked handstand against the wall, then, still squeezing the block between your thighs, straighten your legs out.
Keeping your bottom ribs in, and your pelvis tucked under, slowly bring one foot off the wall, then the other - always squeezing the block with your thighs, squeeze it as if you are trying to crush it!!
Keep tightening your core, and squeezing that block and you should be able to start getting some air time away from the wall
The block is a great tool to remind us to keep our legs engaged, as well as our core
Every part of our body is engaged during a handstand!

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