22
Apr
2023
Ireland Cycling Adventure
Ireland
County Mayo, Ireland
12 Days of Handstands
Community Funded Online Training Program
About This Program
YogaSlackers 12 Days of Handstands goal is to empower participants around the world to train handstands wherever they are with the support of an online community.
In this page you will find this month’s training program. We update this page during the last days of the month. Join our newsletter to receive a notification when the new training program is loaded.
We also recommend you join our Facebook group to connect with our community of supportive and dedicated handstanders around the world.
Funded By People Like You
Thank you for joining the YogaSlackers 12 Days of Handstands. This training program is supported by your contributions.
You can make a one-time or monthly contribution to support the creation of handstand training videos, monthly training programs and online support. Any amount helps.
If you prefer to contribute monthly, we set up three different Paypal Subscription plans at $5, $10 and $20 per month. You can cancel your subscription at any time. But we hope seeing that small payment at the beginning of the month serves as an additional incentive to train!
Or make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (@poweredbyyoga)
Thank you!
Contribute Monthly
Affiliated Programs
We generate some income from purchases made following these links. They don’t negatively affect your final price and quite often, we can publish a discount for you. Win-win!
Inflatable paddle boards. Use code YogaSlackers for 10% off.
Massage tools. Use discount code YSLACKERS for 20% off
Use discount code yogaslackers for 10% off
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ToeSox and Tavi Active clothing. Use code YogaSlackers for 15% off
Recommended Tools
Practice your handstands on a wood board, hard carpet, or a thin yoga mat. This will help you absorb some of the pressure created on your hands while handstanding, without creating too much instability.
Avoid practicing on soft surfaces – such as thick carpets, puzzle mats or thick yoga mats – as the instability created by them can put your joints in compromised positions.
Nothing fancy is needed. I use a homemade 1/2 in (3.81cm) plywood board.
Clear out some space around a wall or pillar in your home. Make sure to clear up enough space to create a safe fall zone in case you fall in any direction.
Remember to use your thin yoga mat or handstand board during your wall training drills.
We use yoga blocks to help us maintain proper forearm alignment. If you don’t have any, think outside the block and experiment using water bottles, books or boxes.
You will need to time the length of your handstands. It can be done with a friend and a chronometer or by trimming a video.
Here are a few of our favorite apps to time our handstands: M Stopwatch, Handstand Quest, and Seconds.
Handstand training like any other training stresses your body. Take time after each training session and between training days to massage your body.
We recommend Armaid and RAD rollers. Check out our resource page for discount codes for both.
This Month's Training Program
Additional Downloads
In-Person Training
22
Jun
2023
Journey Through Japan
Japan
Narita to Okinawa
1
Jul
2023
Acro Yoga Japan Festival
Okinawa, Japan
Okinawa Prefecture Gender Equality Center, Okinawa, Japan
22
Apr
2023
Ireland Cycling Adventure
Ireland
County Mayo, Ireland
22
Jun
2023
Journey Through Japan
Japan
Narita to Okinawa
1
Jul
2023
Acro Yoga Japan Festival
Okinawa, Japan
Okinawa Prefecture Gender Equality Center, Okinawa, Japan
Choose Your Level
Original Challenge
The original challenge involves holding cumulative minutes. You will start a timer as soon as your feet leave the ground and stop the timer as soon as your feet return to the ground. During your next handstand you will continue the timer until you accumulate your desire time for the day.
Cumulative handstand holds are about ‘time on your hands’. Form and entrance style are not as important as holding your handstand.
There are two main ways to do this:
1) Practice one cumulative minute handstand per day of the month until day 12th.
Example:
Day 1, 1 cumulative minute.
Day 2, 2 minutes… all the way to
Day 12, 12 minutes.
2) Or spread the 12 days throughout the month. Keeping track of what day you are on.
If you choose to practice the original challenge, attempt all your handstands off the wall. You may use a spotter to avoid catastrophic falls, but if you touch the spotter or the wall, come down immediately and try again. Please not to use the spotter to hold the handstand longer than you can hold on your own.
This challenge is all about learning to enter a handstand and how to balance a handstand off the wall by practicing small movements. If you use a wall or a spotter to go up without control or if you touch the wall and continue holding the handstands then this challenge will be less effective.
If you feel like you need a spotter or a wall to enter the handstand, then we recommend you do not attempt this level yet, and instead attempt Level 1.
Level 1
Level 1 drills are designed to help you become comfortable entering and exiting a handstand on the wall. The primary focus on this level is to learn:
- External rotation of the upper arm.
- Maintaining your arms straight during entrance, exits and handstand holds.
- Learning the hollow body position (ribs in, shoulders and hips opened).
- Learning the mechanics of entrances and exits.
- And becoming comfortable holding a handstand on the wall.
Stay on this level until you can hold 6x plank for 1 min in less than 12 minutes or until you can handstand off the wall for 5 seconds.
Level 2
Level 2 Drills are about learning to be comfortable off the wall. While form is always important, perfectly straight off the wall handstands in this level are not the main goal.
However, on the wall, your goals is to have perfect form. Do not sacrifice your form for longer wall handstands. That defies the purpose of most wall drills. These drills are to improve your form, not the length of your wall handstands.
Stay in this level until you can hold a handstand off the wall for 15 to 30 seconds.
Level 3
Level 3 drills are meant to help you have a longer, quieter and straighter handstand. Your goal at this level is to focus on quality of movement on and off the wall. Yes, we do want longer handstands, but stability and alignment comes first.
Focus on form and effective movement on wall handstands, entrances, exits and holds… in that order.
Stay on this level until you can hold a straight and quiet 1 minute handstand.
What after the 1 minute mark?
Then you will be able to work on leg isolations, asymmetric holds and increase your handstand hold to 2 minutes and one arm handstands (OAHS). However, will only take you to a 1 min, maybe a 1:30 goal.
If you would like more, contact Raquel for personalized training plans.
Warm Up
Pre-Handstand Warm Up | Practice Before Wall Series
This video will guide you through a short yoga-inspired warm up series.
Practice this warm up series before any handstand wall series. It focuses on preparing the wrist and shoulders to carry the weight of handstands. While also activating the muscles and body movements to find a straight handstand line.
Full Warm Up Series
Warm ups are very personal. What your body needs to warm up, is probably really different than what is needed by someone else. If you are tight your warm up should focus on opening up your muscles and releasing tension. If you are very flexible, your warm-up may required more strengthening moves. If something hurts, then we need to release and prepare the muscles that support the aching joint.
There are so many variables. With that in mind, try this warm up series. It works for me and several of my students. I am looking forward to hear how it worked for you.
Drills
Supine Tuck Ups with Wall
This drill will help us understand the pathway we want to follow while entering a handstand through a Tuck Up.
Supine Straddle Ups
This drill will help us understand the pathway we want to follow while entering a handstand through a Straddle Up.
Supine Pike Ups
This drill is a good way to work on our body mechanics while waking up the hamstrings and core. Throughout the entire movement focus on keeping a hollow body position. Ribs in and lower back flush on the ground.
CROW
Learn to balance on your hands while maintaining proper forearm placement.
Plank and Forearm Plank with Blocks
Learn to maintain the Belly to the Ground alignment, while working on the correct hand and forearm placement required for handstands and other arm balances.
Play Video
Cumulative Handstands
Enter a freestanding handstand. Unspotted.
Start a timer as soon as your feet leave the ground and stop the timer as soon as your feet return to the ground. During your next handstand you will continue the timer until you accumulate your desire time for the day.
Headstand Presses: Tuck, Straddle & Pike
Practice your handstand entrances on Supported or Tripod Headstand.
Shapes & Leg Variations
Straight Handstand
Narrow Open Straddle | Fork
Wide Open Straddle
Pike Straddle
Stagged
Opened Stagged
Double Stagged
Open Double Stagged
Eagle Legs
Mini Front Split
Butterfly | Diamond
Turn Signal
Frog
Scorpion
Hollow Back in Full Splits by Jane Hjelmqvist
Hollow Back with Foot to Head Split by Jane Hjelmqvist
Meditation
End each practice with meditation.
Explore how your core engagement helps you stay centered. Observe how the breath can create a shift in your center of gravity. See how you can modify your breath to take full breaths without rocking your body forwards and back. Then apply that change in your breathing pattern to your next handstand practice.
Just like in your handstand, it may be useful to video yourself from the side. This will allow you to see if you are leaning, curling or loosing your line in any way.
Report Your Progress
Post a video, image, quote or support message in our 12 Days of Handstands Facebook Group. It helps us stay inspired to practice! Post your successes, but most importantly post your struggles. Let’s use this group to support each other practices.
Yes, share this page with your friends.
