Pushing the Floor Away in Plank Simpler poses that involve weight-bearing through the arms-like plank-are excellent handstand preps, as they build strength and stability in the upper body and provide the opportunity to practice essential alignment and key actions that transfer directly to handstand.įor example: Your hand alignment in plank is the same as in handstand, and getting familiar with which parts of your hand are pressing into the floor and which are not, how much you’re “gripping” or “clawing” the mat with your fingers, and what happens when you shift forward or back and right or left is essential for both balancing in a handstand and slowing yourself down when you lower from handstand to chaturanga. From all fours-knees under hips and hip-distance apart, wrists under shoulders and hands shoulder-distance apart (or slightly wider)-line up your wrist creases parallel to the front edge of your mat. Spread your fingers evenly apart, but comfortably so. Press down into the pads and roots of your fingers. Next, stretch one leg and then the other back into plank. Press the backs of your thighs up toward the sky without sticking your butt up in the air. Push the floor away with your hands-protracting your shoulder blades (i.e., spreading them apart) so that your upper back rounds a bit. At the same time, reach back through your inner heels. In handstand, pushing the floor away and reaching up through your heels will help you balance and keep you from collapsing into your shoulders. If you’re using plank to build strength for handstands, aim to hold for one to two minutes.
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