Usually, when students struggle with arm balances, they would say, “𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩.”
While that might be true, that’s not really the whole story.
There are many students who have a lot of upper body strength, but if their lower body is tight, they will struggle with arm balance. 🙁
In that case, for these students, the approach to arm balances should emphasize opening the lower body and relaxation.
But if you are the ones who are pretty open in poses like forward bends and pigeon poses (hamstrings and external rotators – revisit last week’s post on Hip Opening!) and still struggle with your arm balances, then the focus can be directed to build arm, upper body, and abdominal strength.
I think we have also mistaken that arm balances should be INTENSE and we need to tighten up EVERYTHING and to PUSH PUSH PUSH to get there.
The reality is with skillful actions and consistent practice, we don’t have to and don’t want to have to work so hard. 🤗
Instead, we want to stay STEADY and RELAXED in the pose without overexerting.
Have a playful and curious attitude. 👌
Day 4 of #pure5pillars challenge is the HOT – the Fire 🔥 Element – represented by an arm balance/twisting pose.
My choice is – Parsva Kukkuttasana. A Twisted Lotus Arm Balance. Yes! It’s a lot going on here! 😅 And if we add on transitions, we have to stay even more steady and calm! 🧘♀️
Here is a little fact. 👇🏻
It’s true that arm balances are challenging, but most students thought they lack flexibility or strength, but mostly it’s the LACK OF TECHNIQUES.
In 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 classes, we will work on the techniques and actions required to build your arm balance practices.
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