How to Do Handstand at the Wall
Aside from living a healthier lifestyle and reaping the mental benefits of a regular yoga practice, achieving a handstand in yoga feels like the ultimate accomplishment. However, it is a feat that requires not only a strong core and arms but also stability and the mental endurance to practice until you perfect it.
Below, Alo Moves instructors Patrick Beach and Carling Harps break down how to begin building up to a handstand by incorporating a wall. Think of it as using training wheels on a bike — it’s one step of many in the process of learning how to do a handstand.
How to Do Handstand at the Wall
First, warm up by interlacing your fingers and rolling out your wrists in figure 8s in each direction. This will build up a bit of synovial fluid in the joints to reduce friction.
Stand up and measure your distance from the wall using the length of your leg. Face the wall and stick your leg out in front of you to rest on the wall.
Turn around and put your hands where your feet were on the mat.
Before you place your feet on the wall behind you, drop your knees down to the mat and roll your shoulders over your wrists a few times to check in and prepare yourself for the inversion.
When ready, climb your feet up the wall behind you by pressing down through your inner hand and wrapping your triceps back and your biceps forward. Press one foot on the wall and press into the wall using it to help you continue walking up with your other foot until both feet are about hip height. Adjust by walking the hands in or out.
Once both feet are on the wall and you feel strong, lift one leg off and raise it to the ceiling. Hold here for 30 seconds, then step back all the way down to your mat.
With both feet now off of the wall, take a moment to rest in Hero Pose (Virasana). Patrick says, “After a long inversion, I always find it’s nicer to come to a seated position rather than Child’s Pose because you tend to reacclimate much quicker.”
Now, repeat these steps but raise your other leg to the ceiling this time.
To build your upside-down awareness, on your third attempt, you’ll switch off between raising both legs. Once again, climb your legs up the wall and raise one leg up high, holding for 15 seconds. Switch your feet on the wall and lift the opposite leg for 15 more
Handstand Tips from Patrick Beach and Carling Harps:
Carling, on maintaining strength during a handstand: “As these holds start to progress, and you’re upside down for a while, you may feel yourself sort of sinking and settling in. Keep pushing the ground away so you have that strong push action. Let your shoulder blades elevate and wrap around a little bit so as you get tired, you have that strong push away to keep things nice and engaged.”
Patrick, on technique: “We want to keep the arms straight. We want to keep the body fully engaged, especially the legs extended fully above because we want to create control and activation through the whole body.”
Carling, on loss of control during a handstand: “If you feel like you’re starting to lose control, or it feels unsteady at any point, come down early and start to build up from there. It doesn’t have to be all the way to the finish line the first time you try it.”
Continue perfecting your handstand with Patrick and Carling’s series on Alo Moves, Journey to Handstand. Try 14 days free on Alo Moves now.
