Leverage and Power: Arm Balances and Inversions Essential Dynamics • Arm-balancing is empowering, inspiring, and, well, hard. In fact, the challenging nature of arm-balancing often leads students to overwork and rely on raw force instead of technique and focus. • The intensity of these postures can also lead to an attraction/aversion complex: Students will tend to be attracted to their striking beauty and either push, push, push to get there, or they’ll take a bathroom break and disconnect from their practice. • What often gets overlooked is that arm balances require you to relax deeply and release many of your joints and muscles. You need a lot of suppleness in your groins, hamstrings, hips, knees, and torso just to get into the shape of most of these poses; once you develop this, you won’t have to work so hard. • Many people struggle with these postures because they simply don’t understand how to do them—not necessarily because they’re not strong or flexible enough. • In order to learn these postures, most people need them broken down into small, accessible components. • Focus on preparatory poses that open your joints and get your body deeply familiar with the shape of each of the arm-balances. • Cultivate a playful, curious, and non-striving attitude. Notice if you become overly intense in your desire to perform the pose or, conversely, if you’re tempted to throw in the towel because they seem too challenging. If that happens, let go and search for the delicate balance between effort and relaxation. Use the exploration of these poses to practice meeting any challenge with understanding, acceptance, and resilience. Primary actions of arm-balances In order to find greater depth in your arm-balances, it is important to be efficient. This means cultivating strength, increasing flexibility, and reducing over-effort. The following actions and points of consideration will help you do all three by teaching you to understand the underlying techniques and elements for all-arm balances. Determine what the arms and shoulders are doing Before blasting into an arm-balance, pause for a moment and observe the shape and actions that are required in the upper-body. The majority of arm- balances will have one of the following shapes/poses as the underlying template for the upper-body: Handstand, forearm balance, side-plank, chatturanga or dandasana. In even simpler terms, the arms will either be overhead, in front, in front with the elbows bent or out to the sides. Make sure that you practice other postures to strengthen, align and open the upper-body in these directions before tackling the arm balances. Determine what the hips and legs are doing The biggest variables involved in arm-balancing are in the hips and legs. The lower-body does everything from lotus to splits, from backbends, to squats in arm-balancing. Remember that the key developing greater depth in your arm- balances may not be in strengthening your upper-body, but opening your lower- body. Incorporate your pelvic floor and abdomen Arm-balances require you to distribute your effort throughout your entire body. In particular, the pelvic floor and lower-abdomen should draw into the body during these postures. These actions will help lift your body and support the weight of your pelvis. Release unnecessary tension The effort involved with arm-balancing can easily become over-effort. Be sure that you are letting go of unnecessary tension in your body. Also, practice letting go of the mental tension and expectation that arises as you with these demanding postures. Arm-balance categories Each arm-balance is categorized according to the shape and actions of the arms/shoulders. Each pose also has a parenthetical note regarding the action of the hips and legs. • Vasisthasana family o Vasisthasana 1 (legs stacked) o Vasisthasana 2 (top leg in tree pose) o Vasisthasana 3 (top leg raised, holding big toe) o Kasyapasana (lotus) o Visvamitrasana (side splits) o Kapinjalasana 1, 2 (let extended, knee bent, backbend) ❖ Key actions include externally rotating bottom arm; drawing scapula away from the ear; integrating pelvis, spine and ribs by mild core contraction • Bakasana family o Bakasana (legs in squat) o Parsva bakasana (twist) o Eka pada bakasana 1 (leg reaching forward) o Eka pada bakasana 2 (leg reaching back) ❖ Key actions include broadening your scapulae, rounding your upper-back, squeezing your legs into your upper-arms, engaging your abdominals and pelvic floor • Handstand Family o Adho Mukha vrksasana (Handstand) ▪ Half-Handstand ▪ Straight legs ▪ Lotus variation ▪ Splits variation ❖ Key actions include externally rotating your upper arms, looking toward your thumbs, drawing your front ribs in, lengthening your tailbone and heels toward the ceiling. Practice Sequence Preparatory Shoulder Openers -virasana shoulder opening series -Fingers interlaced, arms overhead; -garudasana; -gomukhasana; -fingers interlaced behind back, arms straight -extended child's pose -1/2 dog, with leen to side -Down Dog with focus on external rotation of upper-arms -low lunge series with shoulder openers -Fingers interlaced, arms overhead; -garudasana; -gomukhasana; -fingers interlaced behind back, arms straight -high lunge series with shoulder openers -Fingers interlaced, arms overhead; -garudasana; -gomukhasana; -fingers interlaced behind back, arms straight Salutations with hip, hamstring, adductor opening -Simple lunging salutations with: -warrior 2 -side-angle -Triangle -Bound side-angle -half-moon -Simple lunging salutations with: -warrior 1 -parsvottonasana -revolved triangle -Standing splits Vasisthasana family with preps Surya Namaskar -Down-Dog, focus on upper-arms externally rotating -“Halfway-to-plank-pose-pose,” Slide leading hand forward 2-3 inches and externally rotate upper-arm bone, shift into Vasisthasana Tree pose with arms out to side instead of vertical. Focus on external rotation of arms and core containment Surya Namaskar with vasithasana, top leg in tree pose Surya Namaskar with triangleside-anglehalf-moon Uttihita Hasta Padangusthasana with leg out to side Surya Namaskar with vasisthasana, holding top foot and leg straightened Standing half-lotus bind Surya Namaksar with bound pigeon Surya Namaskar with vasisthasana, top leg in bound half-lotus (kasyapasana) Natarajasana Surya Namaksar with quad-stretch lunge and vasisthasana, top leg in natarajasana Nice long, child’s pose Handstand family with preps Transition to wall for Handstand: -Version 1) at wall, fingers facing wall -Version 2) at wall, fingers rotated out 90 degrees -Version 3) work on balance with or without partner Transition to forearm balance: -version 1) holding block with palms -version 2) holding block with palms facing the ceiling -version 3) holding block with palms facing the floor Bakasana family with preps Lay on back for reclined arm-balances: -Bakasana on back -parsva bakasana on back -Eka pada bakasana on back -bakasana to handstand to bakasana on back Roll to sitting -Navasanaardha navasanaseated bakasana x’s 5 Malasanabakasana Gomukhasanaardha matseyendrasana Parsva bakasana Down-dog-->low lungeardha hanumanasanas Eka pada bakasana Down dognice and long down dog Hip-flexor and quad opening of your choice Reclined twists of your choice Mild reclined backbends of your choice Savasana Savasana .