My Handstand Journey

I have been practicing yoga since 2005, and like every other student of yoga, I upgraded my goal to a handstand after nailing my headstand. Can you imagine how high one can feel to see the world upside down by balancing their entire body on their palms?

For many years, I kept watching various videos of handstand techniques on YouTube and practicing them endlessly by jumping to the wall, with extraordinarily little success compared to the efforts. I felt I needed to be more patient with the process and kept practicing for another 2-3 years by following various teachers on social media, but still had little success overall. Not only did I feel disappointed at my failure, but I also hurt my shoulders as well as my wrists a couple of times, which took more than 9 months to heal each time.

I realized that while all the techniques were scientific and worked for those teachers on social media, they were not working for me because I was making one fundamental mistake all the while. I was only focusing on learning the handstand techniques without investing the necessary time to prepare my body for the handstand. The various parts of the body needed to be strengthened. The fingers, palms, wrists, shoulders, core, back, and legs had to work like a team and coordinate to balance the entire body on the hands. I realized, after years of failed attempts, that 80% is preparation and just 20% is the necessary skill.

I changed my approach completely. I focused on strengthening my body through various drills 5 times a week, and on the 6th day focused on the handstand skills. In just 3 months I started experiencing success. In about 6 months' time with this new approach, I was able to hold my handstand comfortably. What the earlier 6 years didn't do, I was able to achieve in 6 months because I focused on the process more than the results. Not only was I experiencing tremendous success now, but also my students who were training with me with this new practice approach.

My biggest lesson from this journey is understanding the value of preparation, and experiencing peaceful progress through the process. The results shall follow.