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previous yoga journey posts: #864752, #863896, #902043

Adho Mukha Vrksasana, or what the gymnasts, gym bros, calisthenics peeps and regular schmucks call handstand, is in yoga an upside-down tree (which is funny, because a tree pose has a leg involved; and a directly inverted handstand would be tadasana, mountain pose).
Whatever.
The lightness for those few moments, for me today a pretty 14-second hold, is pure bliss. Nothing else happens, nothing else matters. May there be stillness in my heart.
  "I feel light guiding our way home"
Divers talk about freefalling (or "the fall"), artists and musicians flow. Yogis search for lightlightness and enlightenment both, being light in your body and your soul.
This is what Adho Mukha Vrksasana does; beyond the physical req (upper body strength, core, balance, practice) your mind needs to be quiet. The minute we lose focus or the thoughts wander elsewhere we fall.
I still arch a little in my upper back and so the journey continues. But it's wonderful to see—and feel—the progress, even from just a year or so ago:
Maybe I should be injured and take breaks from daily pushups more often (#930053).
86 sats \ 2 replies \ @jasonb 3 Apr
I have a daughter that learned how to do this in gymnastics MONTHS ago and still probably spends more than an hour (not continuously) a day every day in this state. She usually uses the wall and her form isn't quite as impressive as yours though. :)
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that's wonderful to hear! Tell her to keep at it
...also, unless she's practicing something specific (i.e., shoulder-hip alignment, wrist strength, rotation->falling out of handstand safely) I would suggest she gets away from the wall. It doesn't actually help you achieve a free-standing handstand
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38 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb 3 Apr
Yeah, I’m not sure she has any goals with it yet, but she must be getting something out of it, because she is just always upside down these days!
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I was trying to do this on Saturday and strained my back. Then I thought I’m too old for this
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lolz! Nah nah, never too old
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Guess I need to work on my form
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core strength really unleashed things for me -- then form: shoulders back, straighten upper back (if you arch, banana-style, like me)
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I agree I can plank and do chin ups and pull ups till no tomorrow but I haven’t developed the technique to do this. But I always wanted to.
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start playing with it regularly; be patient, work warm-ups in the wrist + get comfy being upside down, get good at falling out and catch yourself (cuz you're gonna fall a lot!)
The most common problem I see (in handstands and other arm balances) is that people don't get their center of gravity sufficiently above themselves; in handstands your hips need to be above your shoulders and above your wrists. = if misaligned (not far enough up, or too far) you're gonna fall that way.
This is great! How's your headstand?
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It's oka. I don't practice it too often so it's not exactly great.
It also scares me.
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Important to get that upside down time!!
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