BLOG: Interested in arm balances and inversions? Where to start?

Arm balances and inversions are a fun part of yoga practice that will help to build strength, improve balance and increase mental focus.
You can always choose to skip the poses if you are not interested, but if you are interested and you’ve never done an arm balance or being upside down? You are never too late to learn and practic toward it in a right way.

Where to start? In my experience, first focusing on one of the arm balance poses, Chaturanga Dandasana(Four-Limbed Staff pose) which is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence which we often practice often in the class. You can also practice this pose individually for anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds. It is one of the best ways to build up your arm balances.
Being able to be upside down, we need to learn to fall. Learning to fall can help us overcome our fears of turning upside down and being safe from hurting ourselves.

Once you’ve mastered learning to fall, here are few tips that may help you with arm balances and inversions:

1) Opening your body with yoga practicing will make balancing easier. Target areas such as hamstrings, shoulders and wrists.

2) Be present and focus on your own practice. Don’t worry about what you might look like in the class or other things. If your mind starts to wander to other places, get yourself back in to the present moment and start your balance over.

3) Move slowly and mindfully. The brain’s ability to sense relative positions and movements of different body parts is improved with slow, mindful actions. So, take it slow and enjoy the journey of coming into each yoga pose.

4) Don’t forget to breath and keep taking long breaths in & out through your nose will help you steady your body and mind.

5) Don’t muscle your way into it, find your pivot point! Shift rather than lift, your weight and you will find balance with more ease.

6) If you don’t get the balance after few tries, let it go and come back to it later. This will prevent you from developing poor movement patterns or even worse, an injury.

Have fun practicing and remember to keep trying, most importantly stay safe!

Namaste,

Carmen