Wall Drills to Progress in Handstand
Adho Mukha Vrksasana
WALL DRILLS TO PROGRESS IN HANDSTAND
Wall drills for Handstand are an excellent way to master the mechanics required to go upside down with confidence. Using the wall as a support to refine alignment, rather than as a crutch to neglect technique, is vital to the development of the pose.
In this case, using a wall as a prop may appear to be counterintuitive, but it actually helps us set up a firm foundation for the hands, shoulders, rib cage, and hips. These are the important pieces of the puzzle that will ultimately take us away from the wall and help us to stand tall (on our hands of course).
It’s true that we learn how to isolate the actions for each body part, but it’s the layering on of each action that locks each piece into place in order for our handstand to become a firm unit.
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PRIORITIZE THE RIB CAGE
Matt teaches us that the area we need to prioritize when it comes to balancing in Handstand is the rib cage. More than just stacking the hips over the shoulders, getting the rib cage vertical first is actually more important because it provides the control required.
One of the wall drills Matt demonstrates to assist with this technique is the Pike Switch with a chair and a number of yoga blocks.
The first step is to push through the shoulders for increased scapular mobility, which will also allow the rib cage to move more freely during the exploration.
Setting up the lower leg as high as possible (at approximately a 90-degree angle) will assist in alternating the legs with more ease. It’s also important to tap into the sensation of the placement of the ribs between each “switch” of the legs.
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WALL DRILLS TO PROGRESS IN HANDSTAND: IMPLEMENT MASTERFUL INVERSION TECHNIQUES
GO FOR THE FLOAT
Just like we layer on each technique within the body, we also layer on more challenges in the wall drills we explore.
Now that we’ve worked on the alignment of the rib cage to create a straight line from the wrists to the shoulders to the hips, we can progress by aiming to find some “float” time in an L-Handstand. Here we take the top foot closer to the wall, but we still work to avoid the common “banana back.” If this is brand new to your practice, you may not be able to avoid tapping the wall with your top foot in the attempt to stay balanced. However, still aim to keep the rib cage vertical, even though the top leg may be on a slight diagonal towards the wall.
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TAKE YOUR FEET TO THE WALL
Matt teaches this drill to help us get a vertical line from the forearms to the rib cage to the knees. The knees are significant here because they are bent, and the feet are actually on the wall. Bending the knees allows us to achieve a vertical line. At this stage, if the legs were straight, we might be more inclined to create more spinal extension.
If we still feel challenged, it may be due to lack of strength in the glutes and core muscles. In the video, Matt lies down in a supine position and then lifts up into a variation of Bridge to help us develop the sensational awareness of glute and core activation simultaneously while taking the arms up overhead. This helps simulate how we would feel in the former wall drill.
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HOP INTO HANDSTAND
Here, we progress into L-Hops by placing one foot on a block that sits directly on the floor. We’re now hopping into balance, with the wall behind us for increased safety. This wall drill can be compared to Kick Switches, the difference being that we keep the same shape and repeat with the same leg for a few rounds, instead of alternating legs. This is a drill to explore once we have found some success with “the float” and of course the stacking of the rib cage. However, there is still room to go further.
If you’re interested in advancing your practice and/or becoming certified to teach impactful drills like these, then you’ll want to secure your spot in Matt’s upcoming Chromatic Global Training.
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Article by Trish Curling
Video Extracted From: The Handstand Program
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