HAND BALANCES – DIFFICULT? WHAT ARE THEY NEEDED FOR?

Novice practitioners are often afraid to master hand balances and https://www.julianalucky.com/post/10-top-yoga-books-for-kids, because from the outside they seem very difficult and even unrealistic to perform. Meanwhile, hand balances are an integral part of the practice and contribute to the progressive development of the student. If you carefully understand and consider this topic in more detail, then in fact it turns out that everything is not so scary if we start listening to our body and really assess our own capabilities.

Practicing hatha yoga, we cognize our own body and open up its new possibilities. Over time, the understanding comes that they are practically limitless. Remember that previously it seemed a daunting task to do Urdhva Chaturanga Dandasana (Plank) or Paschimottanasana (Bending forward while sitting), and how rigid our body was when we first came to class.

As we progress in mastering more and more complex postures, we improve the body, discipline the mind and expand consciousness. To gradually progress in practice, you need to correctly define your goals. If the task is simple, then we get bored, if it is too difficult, then we can lose faith in our own strength. Initially, we need to objectively assess our capabilities and make every effort to implement them. This will be an ideal condition for self-improvement in yoga practice, and in general in life.
“This is not for me”, “Why do I need this at all?”, “What is the use of this?” – remember what we thought about hand balances at the very beginning?

Our Mind is designed in such a way that it immediately gives out prepared clichés. We give up development, without even trying to do something, because we were sure in advance of failure. This is a dead-end path in any business. Hand balances often face the same fate. The simplest ones, such as Bakasana (Crane pose), Parshva Bakasana (Crane pose to the Side), Ashtavakrasana (8 knots pose) – it seems to us that we do not have enough physical strength to perform them. However, this is a misconception: it is not at all necessary to have large muscles, since many of these postures are held mainly due to flexibility and the correct distribution of body weight. And to be convinced of this, you must at least include hand balances in your practice. Once we understand how to combine strength with flexibility, arm balances will no longer seem like something out of reach.

Of course, mastering them takes effort, but the goal is worth it: they strengthen the arms, shoulders, chest, abdominal muscles and back; develop flexibility, improve concentration. In addition, by mastering what previously seemed impossible, we increase our own self-esteem.

A few general guidelines for mastering hand balances.
It is necessary to practice Chaturanga Dandasana regularly. It is desirable to be able to stand in it confidently for 5-10 breathing cycles.
1. Warming up the wrist joints.
2. Hands shoulder width apart.
3. The fingers are wide. Transferring weight to the top of the palm and base of the fingers.
4. Right angle at the elbow joints. To include in the work of the muscles of the shoulder blades.
5. The rib cage is parallel to the floor surface, stretching forward and upward.
6. Include in the work only those muscles that are involved in the balance. Do not strain the whole body, especially the face. Tighten the abs, stretch in all vectors, evenly distributing the body weight.
7. Do not try to repeat the form, but consciously approach the implementation. Internally manage the work of the body, understand what to do, in what sequence, that is, follow the algorithm.

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