THE ESSENTIALS
Mobility, strength, alignment, body awareness
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Weighted Wrist Flexion Drill
Strengthen your wrists with this drill. You need a dumbbell around 3-5kg.
hand push ups
Strengthen your forearms and hands, and build awareness for where your weight should be. No props needed.
wrist PAILS/RAILS and circles
Strengthen your wrists in hyperextension, necessary for many handstands and entries. You need two yoga blocks, a table, or a sturdy box.
banded wrist pronation
Strengthen your wrists in pronation, a necessary movement to keep your palms flat and your weight on the middle of the hand. You need a resistance band.
rock the block
This drill shows you if you’re letting your weight drop back too far, and helps you feel the movement of bringing it forward. You need two blocks and two pencils.
Finger pulls
Teach your hands and fingers how to balance you in handstand. You need a wall for this.
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Drills for Upward Scapular Rotation
This is the “wrapping” action of the shoulder blades which requires lats and serratus. It’s often missed, and useful to understand.
Strong and Open Shoulders Drill
If you like puppy pose to open your shoulders, then try this. You need something to elevate your hands from the floor, such as a sofa or table.
Weighted Shoulder Opener and Strength Builder
Build strength and mobility into the shoulders in flexion. Please start with a light weight to understand the movement first. Then build slowly towards higher weight. Make sure you're not hanging at the bottom, but holding the weight with control.
Supported Shoulder Shrugs and Openers
This 3-part drill is for you if you struggle with shoulder strength, stability, and even flexibility for your handstands. You need a sofa or box, and optional resistance band
Pass the Block
Build more external shoulder rotation with arms overhead — this is crucial for stable handstands. You need one yoga block for this.
External Shoulder Rotation Banded Drill
This will help you build more shoulder stability in the overhead position especially if you struggle with the elbows pushing out wide or your upper traps taking over.
Drive the Handstand Bus
This is a shoulder rehab drill combined with joint motor control movement to build strong but also SMART shoulders. You need a resistance band and a wall for this.
Foam Roller Scapula Shrugs
This drill helps you feel your scapulas moving into elevation. You need a foam roller for this.
Shoulder Abduction Strength
Build shoulder stability outside of the normal handstand shape with this banded drill. Grab a resistance band or booty band.
Shoulder and Back Muscles Builder
Build strength in your shoulders and back with this drill. Start with a lighter weight and build up! Develop good form and then build the weight.
Lean and Push
Build strength in the shoulders and awareness to let them move forwards — useful for pressing and creating more range. You need a wall and a small sturdy table or chair.
Dish/Arc
This drill builds strength in the core muscles to pull you back to neutral from a backbend.
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Pelvic Tilt Awareness Drill with Blocks
Helpful if you struggle with your hips piking in handstand, or if your low back tends to collapse. You'll need two yoga blocks for this drill.
Prone Handstand for Pelvis Alignment
Take the prone handstand (a fave!) and bringing special attention to the pelvis.
Pelvis Tilt Awareness Drill
A bit weird, but this drill improves your brain’s maps of your pelvis through various shapes, which is really useful for handstands.
RDLs for Handstands
Build strength in your glutes with some single-leg Romanian dead lifts -- by bringing some extra attention to the movement at the top, we can also build proprioception into our pelvis for straighter handstands. Start with bodyweight only, but you can add weight.
Inverted CPFH
Build on from the “childs pose from hell” and create further proprioception of what your pelvis and spine need to do to create stability in your handstand.
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Childs Pose From Hell
Use this drill to really get to know the feeling of working your shoulders and hips into a straight line while your abs pull in the other direction to complete the shape.
Sharpened Rombergs Plank
Great for a warm up to get your reflexive stability systems firing up.
Prone Handstand For A Straight Line
A favourite drill for working on the proprioception in the shoulders, core, and hips necessary for a straight line.
Long Handstand Hold For Stamina
The drill is simple: just hold a handstand for as long as you can. But make this long hold really work for you and not against you.
Chest To Wall Drill For Straight Handstand Alignment
This allows you to build the awareness of your line in handstand in ways that back-to-wall doesn't allow.
Falling from Handstand at the Wall
Just one drill of many that may help you feel more comfortable with falling from handstand. The point of this is to keep repeating it to build it into your nervous system so that it becomes habit over time.
ENTRY DRILLS
Because getting into the handstand is part of the skill.
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Sciatic Nerve Glide for Handstands
This is a variation of a sciatic nerve glide that builds into a push-and-lean into handstand. Great for learning to kick up or press up to handstand -- especially if leg mobility (particularly hamstring mobility!) is what you feel you need for it.
Upper Body Stability Kicking Drill
This drill builds the habit of keeping the shoulders, ribs, and eyes stable while the legs do their own thing.
“Don’t Rock The Block” Jump Up Alignment Drill
Clean alignment needed for jumps and kicks up to handstand. You need two yoga blocks for this. You can do this with or without a wall behind you.
Kick To L-Shape Drill
Learn the single leg tuck or L-shape variation that most people find most accessible for learning to kick up. You’ll need a sock or small towel.
L-Shape Handstand Drill For Proprioception + Bailing Out
There's two parts of this: 1) using an object such as a sofa to help you feel the balance through L-shape 2) using this shape to learn to bail out to the side.
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Jump To Handstand Alignment Drill
We’ll cover two variations to learn the trajectory of jumping into handstand using a wall.
Straddle Jumps
Understand the trajectory of the initial part of the jump to straddle, to avoid bad habits often created when we try to jump all the way to handstand.
Banded Jump to Straddle
This one’s good for shaky legs and quivering ankles — the set up is weird, but the band gives your brain feedback about your legs as you get up to straddle handstand.
Jump to Tuck Supported Drill
This is to help you learn the trajectory of movement needed to jump to handstand. Find something sturdy you can jump up onto. The higher, the harder it'll be.
Jump to Tuck on the Wall
Jumping to tuck can be a challenge for a lot of people, so we're using the wall to help us understand how better to enter this shape from a jump up.
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Straddle Lean and Push
Build strength in the shoulders in the range of motion required for pressing to handstand.
Puppy Hops
Bring some momentum into the puppy press movement.
Shoulder Lean and Push for Puppy Press
Work on the very specific shoulder movement required to shift your weight in puppy press.
SHAPES
The nuanced alignment changes of holding different shapes, and moving between them
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Childs Pose From Hell
Get to know the feeling of working your shoulders and hips into a straight line while your abs pull in the other direction to complete the shape.
Prone Handstand Drill For A Straight Line
Work on the proprioception in the shoulders, core, and hips necessary for a straight line
Blocks Supported Prone Handstand
Work on the proprioception in the shoulders, core, and hips necessary for a straight line. You need four yoga blocks, or few books that you can rest on to elevate your body about 10 cm (4 in.) from the floor.
Shoulder Lean & Push Wall Drill Part 1
This is a good drill for press handstand and also building strength in your shoulders outside of the straight line; or learning to open your shoulders more towards a straight line. You need a wall.
Shoulder Lean & Push Part 2
Designed to help you build the "Quasimodo" shape of pushing your chest into compression, hiding your ribs, and saving your handstand from falling when your weight moves into the heel of your hand.
Weighted Rib Tuck Drill
Give this a try if you struggle with your ribs flaring out in handstand. Worth recording yourself with this one — the arms shouldn’t move. Just the spine.
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Back Leg Of Splits Mobility Drill
This is a two-part drill where we start with a gentle femoral nerve glide, and then use the same set up for an active hip flexor stretch. You just need a foam roller or similar for this.
Front Leg Of Splits Mobility Drill
A hip flexor activation drill that works your hip flexors in the position they need to work for better splits. Grab a foam roller for this one.
Femoral Nerve Glide For Better Hip Flexors
Use this if you want your hip flexors to do their job of either contracting (lifting your leg up in front of you) or relaxing (to enable your leg to go back behind you).
Hip Flexor Mobility For Splits
You’ll need a stack of blocks for this, and a band. This drill is a very active stretch of the hip flexors, to help you achieve more hip extension.
Foam Roller Pelvis Tilt Drill
Useful for moving between Split and L-shape and feeling the difference in engagement. You’ll need a foam roller.
Shoulder Stability in Splits Handstand
This drill is designed to help you feel the position needed in the upper body when you're doing a split handstand. You’ll need a resistance band, and possibly a few blocks depending on your splits mobility.
Mini Scissor Switches
This is great for learning better balance, but it can also be used to understand the changes that occur in your shoulders, spine, and pelvis to move from split to straight.
Splits Handstand with the Wall
How to use the wall to help you learn to do a split in your handstand. Because this shape requires a slight backbend, it can be scary at first to bring your low back into extension
Splits to L-Shape Alignment Drill
Slow micro movements are the name of the game here. Film yourself to check if your body position is what it FELT, and use that feedback to build better proprioception. You’ll need a wall.
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Reclined Straddle PNF
Perfect for warming up your straddle and deepening it.
Pelvic Tilt in Straddle Drill
Learn the activation of the glutes and abs to hold a straddle handstand — especially with a neutral pelvis which is useful for certain straddle handstand skills.
Gluteus Medius and Hip Rotation Drill
Build strength in the outer hips for stronger straddles and overall stronger hips! You’ll need a resistance band for this.
Hip Abduction with the Wall
Build strength in the outer hips for stronger straddles and overall stronger hips! You’ll need a wall and a yoga block.
CPFH x Frog Hip Abduction Drill
Build strength in the outer hips for stronger straddles and overall stronger hips! No equipment needed.
Straddle Pulses for Abductor Strength
Build the strength and awareness of the muscle activation needed to pull your legs apart with your outer hips in straddle handstand.
Straddle Pike Drill
Learn to hold an anterior tilt in straddle while piking the hips, to create a lock for your lower body which is useful in many straddle handstand skills.
Straddle Slides
Useful for warming up the inner thighs as well as strengthening them, with the bonus of some upper body push strength too. You’ll need socks and perhaps a couple of yoga blocks.
Shoulder Stability in Straddle
This resistance band drill is designed to help you build the strength and proprioception of a push of the shoulders while in straddle.
Straddle ←→ Frog Handstand Drill
This drill teaches the hip flexor and psoas activation needed for a solid straddle handstand. You may want to use a wall.
Straddle ←→ Straight Handstand Drill
This drill teaches the movement of the legs and pelvis to go into straddle from straight, and back again. You may want to use a wall.
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Drills for Better Side Bends
Learn the feeling of crunching into the waist to start tilting your pelvis sideways into flags.
Banded Straddle Side Bend Drill
Build the proprioception for a deeper side bend with this drill.
Weighted Straddle Side Bend Drill
Start with just a yoga block, here but then build up to heavier weights. This is designed to help you understand the side bending movement needed for flags.
Weighted Straddle Side Bend Drill
Start with just a yoga block, here but then build up to heavier weights. This is designed to help you understand the side bending movement needed for flags.
Drills for Adding Side Bend to Handstand
Progress in these steps for adding a side bend when upside down.
Lats Push for Coming Out of Side Bend
Feel the movement of lengthening the side body to push into a neutral spine from a flag.
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Banded Internal Hip Rotation Drill for Tidier Squats
If you struggle to keep your knees together as you go into a squat, this is for you. Grab a resistance band.
Overhead Squats Tuck Handstand Drill
If your lower body is what holds you back in tuck, then work the lower body with these banded tuck squats.
Overhead Squats Tuck Handstand Drill
If your lower body is what holds you back in tuck, then work the lower body with these banded tuck squats.
Squeeze the Block Internal Hip Rotation Drill
Build better internal rotation and adduction in your tuck with this drill.
Squeeze the Block Internal Hip Rotation Drill
Build better internal rotation and adduction in your tuck with this drill.
Compression for Tuck Drill with Wall
Often the spine rounds when we want the hip flexors to do the work of bringing us into tuck. This will help with that!
Hollowbody to Tuck
Build the strength and proprioception in the core and hip flexors for moving into deeper tucks for your tuck handstand.
Back to Wall Tuck Drills
There are a few variations for this drill to help you build the proprioception and confidence to fold yourself into a tuck in handstand.
Chest to Wall Tuck Drill
This is perhaps the best way to learn not just how to hold tuck, and build the strength and confidence, but to learn how to move into tuck from straight handstand.
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Pelvic Tilt Awareness Drill with Blocks
Helpful for understanding pelvic tilt when moving into a backbend and hip extension. You'll need two yoga blocks for this drill.
Hip Flexor Mobility For Better Hip Extension
You’ll need a stack of blocks for this, and a band. This drill is a very active stretch of the hip flexors, to help you achieve more hip extension.
Childs Pose From Hell for Hip Extension
If you want more open hips for backbends, handstand, or whatever else, or you're just looking for something that'll light you gluteus maximus on fire, this is your drill!
Skydiver Pulses for Scorpion Handstand
Build strength in your hamstrings and glutes in their most contracted position stronger hip extension in backbends.
Thoracic Foam Roller Crunches
Build range in your thoracic extension, first passively and then actively so you learn the muscle engagement that accompanies thoracic extension.
Banded Cobra Cat/Cow
This drill is about building the awareness of the thoracic spine in your backbends, using the external feedback of a resistance band.
Lift and Reach
Build an awareness of the trajectory of movement into a backbend that doesn't rely on typical compensatory movements from the low back or neck.
Active Cobra Lifts
This drill is about building strength in your back muscles for strong backbends. You’ll probably want a block.
Extended Puppy
Build control of the movement from a straight handstand to a hollowback shape -- it's a nice stretch, with strength built in.
Dish/Arc
This drill builds strength in the core muscles to pull you back to neutral from a backbend.
Wheel Rocks
Build strength and mobility of the upper spine and shoulders to take your weight in a backbend.
Scorpion Handstand 3-Part Drill
Understand the sequence of movements of going into scorpion. Start small with your movements so you can control the movement, and then build the range slowly.
Hollowback Sit on Wall
Build awareness of the pelvic tilt involved in creating a hollowback shape in your handstand. Plus, get tips on how to build this shape into your nervous system, by moving in and out of it with control.
Chest to Wall Hollowback Slides
Build the control of the movement from a straight handstand to a hollowback shape.