Learning how to balance in Handstand is made simpler with the help of a competent partner. A truly capable assistant can make the potentially perilous moment of free-standing balance safer for the practitioner while at the same time imparting some essential movement skills. I’ve seen people put both themselves and their students in harm's way through poorly managed assisted scenarios. So, let’s talk about some ground rules for making assisting Handstand a confidence-boosting experience that leaves both parties without injury.

Ground Rules for Assisting at the Wall (for the practitioner)

First and foremost, make these agreements with your students (in a group class I gather everyone around and go through the list one-by-one):

• Do not come up until I ask you to and tell you I am ready.
• Do not throw your legs out to the side (because that is where my head is likely to be).
• Never fall to the side. Just make that agreement in your head, because there are likely to be others practicing next to you who could be badly injured by your decision to cartwheel off-kilter out of the pose (something that people often practice in the middle of the room, and to be avoided because it also torques the spine).
 • Before coming up, check that there are no blankets or objects such as water bottles around or near your yoga mat. Coming down onto a blanket is not likely to end well.
 • If others are practicing Handstand at the wall, never (and I mean never), walk onto their mat. If your fellow practitioner comes down suddenly, you will be in the way, and if you get hit, it will be your own fault.

The most basic assistance you can give is to place your fingers around the front of the abdomen and the thumbs around the back of the pelvis. In this way you can indicate that it is the pelvis that must first come over the trunk, not the legs. As the legs follow, move your head to the side (Fig. 7A). Continue to give light support to the abdomen as your student learns to take one leg away from the wall, while keeping the other leg at right angles to the wall (Fig. 3).

If your student is hyperextending the lumbar spine, you can use fingertip pressure on the sacrum to indicate a lift through the tail (Fig. 7B). Or you can give the verbal instruction to draw the pubis closer to the navel to engage the abdominals to bring the pelvis into a more centered position. It is much easier to do this with one leg still on the wall. If your student does decide to attempt the balance with two legs, keep your hands lightly on the pelvis so that when they do decide to come down you can indicate a backward motion of the pelvis as the fulcrum for controlling the descent of the legs. If your student is confidently balancing with good control of the core, place your hands firmly on the soles of the feet and ask them to ‘push up’ into your downward pressure (Fig. 7C). This can impart the skill of actively reaching through the body during the balance, and prevent a collapse onto the shoulders.

As I draw the thighs in towards the belly the pelvis and legs immediately and effortlessly alight over the chest. (Fig. 9C & D). People often start giggling when they feel this, because they can’t believe how easy it feels to come up this way. If possible, I’ll ask the student to pause with the pelvis over the chest and keep the knees bent, then slowly attempt a descent by drawing the abdomen back toward the spine and lowering the legs. Being able to come down with control is the key to being able to come up with control. Once someone has experienced this sensation, I’ll ask them to come up by themselves, with the assurance that I’ll be right there to hold the pelvis and stabilize the shoulders if necessary.

Helper’s hands shift from backs of thighs (above) to supporting the pelvis (below) (Fig 9E).

Practicing in the Middle of the Room Unassisted
The most helpful skill that anyone can learn when practicing alone in the middle of the room, is to first learn how to fall safely. Never ‘fall’ from Handstand by twisting and cartwheeling to the side. This can badly torque the shoulders and the lower back, but more importantly, it does nothing to teach you how to balance. The safest way to fall is to bend the knees, and to drop the legs behind the head into Upward Facing Bow (Urdhva Dhanurasana), with relaxed arms. Then lower the pelvis to the floor, roll over onto the side, and try again. Learning to fall safely, takes the tiger by the tail. Once you can confidently fall, there is no longer any fear about working alone in the middle of the room. To teach someone to fall safely, you need two people standing either side of the practitioner.

If and when a person falls, make a bridge to support the back by clasping each other’s hands. Assistants need to be about the same height to effectively offer this support. Do this several times until the person is confidently falling.

When first attempting Handstand alone, play with coming into Downward Dog and lifting one leg into the air with the least amount of force possible. The less force you use, the less you will have to stop and control to balance. Once you have mastered a ‘one leg at a time’ balance, progress to both legs together with the knees bent, then both legs together with legs straight.

Finally, don’t overdo it! Learning to balance can be addictive, and too many attempts at one time can strain the wrists. If you manage one attempt that is a step up from your last, move on to another practice. You’ll be surprised how a good nights sleep can help you integrate that improvement and pave the way for an even finer balance the next day.

This article follows and supplements the original post which was first published between 1988 and 2003 when Donna was writing full-length feature articles for Yoga Journal and Yoga International USA. 

The re-curated originals will be followed by New Insights such as this post, where Donna shares what's changed after more than three decades of teaching internationally. This material is being offered for free for the first time as a service during Donna's sabbatical. All material © 2023 Donna Farhi.

Thanks to Julieanne Moore for her patience and dedicated work as our model. 

An occasional bonus Feature article will also be published. 

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