Rebecca Katharina • Yoga & Acroyoga

A simple progression to start building your Handstand foundations 🤸🏼‍♀️

These are 5 drills I’d absolutely recommend before focusing on kicking up (I wish I did them earlier and more often) :

1. Wrist stretch with extended arm: prepare the wrists for weight & improve their mobility.
2. Scapular push-ups: learn to actively push the floor away & control your shoulder blades which is essential when supporting your weight upside down.
3. Pike knee extension lifts: build shoulder strength, core compression & get comfortable shifting more weight into your hands.
4. Headstand with pike to knee tuck to extension: practice placing your hips over your shoulders and understand where your pelvis needs to be when you’re upside down…. without worrying about balancing on your hands yet.
5. Cat-cows + wrist shakes: use these in between rounds to reset your spine, shoulders, and wrists before going again. 🤸🏼‍♂️

You don’t need to spend your whole Handstand practice kicking up. Building wrist preparation, shoulder strength, compression, and upside-down body awareness first can make the balancing part much more approachable.

Move slowly, stay active, and let control come before momentum.

Save this for your next Handstand practice 🤸🏼‍♂️

And if you can’t, it doesn’t mean your body is failing the challenge. It simply shows you where you can build more mobility, flexibility, and control 💪🏼!

Because the goal isn’t just to reach advanced yoga poses… it’s to have a body that feels strong, mobile, and free to move both on and off the mat. ✨

Let me know if you’re able to do this challenge!

Want more strength + control for arm balances and inversions? 💪🏼

Try this reverse tabletop to supported L-sit drill with both feet elevated on two blocks. The elevation gives you more space to work with while challenging your shoulders, hip flexors, core compression, and coordination. 🤸🏼‍♂️

Move slowly, stay connected to your breath 🌬️ and warm up your wrists first!

- Press strongly through your hands as you lift into reverse tabletop.
- Keep the shoulders active as you shift your weight forwards
- Pull the hips through and lift into your supported L-sit without using momentum.

Try 6–10 controlled reps for 3 rounds. The slower you can transition between the two shapes, the more you’ll feel your whole body working together.

The goal here isn’t just the L-sit.. it’s learning to push, compress & control your weight, skills that transfer directly into arm balances and inversions. 🤸🏼‍♀️

Save it for your next practice 💙🦋

inversiontraining

Get stronger shoulders for stable inversions with these drills 🔥

Here are the 3 exercises I like to use to build more shoulder strength & control before working on inversions 🤗

1. L-SITS: great for combining shoulder strength with core compression.

2. PIKE KNEE EXTENSIONS: perfect to activate the shoulders, traps and core together.

3. TRAP RAISES: one of the best to build better shoulder stability.

Remember to move with control, listen to your body, and progress at your own pace 🤸🏻‍♀️

Save to try it later 🤍