The most common question I receive is: “How can I improve my handstand?” While understanding basic principles and alignment is key, I do have some tips!

Here are five ways to help you improve your handstand and get you balancing on your hands.

New to handstands?  Make sure to check out my Handstands 101 Part 1 and Part 2 articles!

#1: Grip it!

Your 10 little fingers truly play an important part in your handstand practice. They can help you keep your balance and prevent you from falling over. From the moment your hands touch the earth, spread your fingers and actively grip or claw your mat. Making slight adjustments in your fingers can take your practice to a new level.

#2: Square your hips!

Keeping your hips square while kicking up may be the most important tip of all. When you go to lift your leg to kick up, be mindful of where your toes are pointing. Are they facing the ground or are they off to the side?  If they are off to the side, you are opening up your hip which can cause you to kick up tilted and, ultimately, fall down.

Once you lift your leg, flex your foot, and internally rotate the inner thigh so your toes face down towards your mat. Another great tip to keep your hips square is to plug the femur bone (or thigh bone) into your hip socket.

#3: Move away from the wall!

There is no shame in using the wall when learning to handstand.  In fact, I encourage it.  Unless you know how to gracefully fall into wheel or cartwheel out, having a wall as a safety net is your safest route.  You don’t, however, want to become overly reliant on the wall – at least not if your goal is to handstand without its assistance.  Therefore, I suggest practicing about a leg’s distance away from the wall, only using it when needed. Doing it this way will help you learn to control your kick ups and make it that much easier to handstand in the middle of the room.

#4: Learning to Balance

If you are at the point in your handstand practice where you can gently kick up but cannot find your balance point when you bring your legs together, this exercise is for you!

Start in tabletop position with your fingertips right at the wall, and notice the placement of your heels and your hands. Move your hands back now so your fingertips are where the heels of your hands were…Essentially you are now a hand’s distance away from the wall. (You may need to play with the distance at first.) Kick gently up to the wall (notice how softly I land), and extend both legs up.

Press the crown of your head firmly into the wall and notice how my feet float off of the wall. My body comes into complete alignment. From here, you can learn what it feels like to have everything stacked, and you can also start to experiment with taking the crown of your head off of the wall.

#5: Slow down and have PATIENCE!

This last tip is probably the hardest.  First…Slow down!!! Everyone is quick to plant their hands down onto their mat and start kicking up at a frantic pace. Take a moment to set yourself up and check your alignment. Do this before each and every kick up attempt! If you are always rushing, you are decreasing your chances for success.

Second…have PATIENCE!  Patience with yourself, patience in your practice.  Progress may be slow, you may get frustrated…breathe.  Slowly but surely you will reach your goal!

XOXO