ARMBALANCING BEGINNER S GUIDE. 3 principles for arm balance conditioning. created by Ashley Hagen AshesYoga.com ARM BALANCE GUIDE ASHESYOGA.

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1 ARMBALANCING BEGINNER S GUIDE 3 principles for arm balance conditioning created by Ashley Hagen AshesYoga.com 1

2 ARM BALANCES Arm balance poses strengthen the wrists, arms, and shoulders. Working towards particular arm balance postures helps develop lightness, strength, and agility. Mastering these poses allows you to achieve tremendous control over the whole body, as well as increase coordination and concentration. Level 1 is all about conditioning. This guide provides you with a checklist of exercises to improve in these three principles. To achieve mastery in arm balances, you need to condition your body in: 1. STRENGTH 2. FLEXIBILITY 3. MOBILITY 2

3 WARM-UP Sun salutations make a great warm-up. Do several rounds of sun salutations (A, B, or any other variations) to fully heat the body. Make sure you are breathing. Get your mindset right with a mini meditation (silent sitting and deep breathing) with the intention of strength, empowerment, and badassery. SUN SALUTATION A Mountain Reach hands Swan dive Exhaling Forward fold Finish exhale Half lift Step to plank Shift to high plank Chaturanga (low plank) Updward facing dog Downward dog Half lift Forward fold Reverse swan dive Inhaling Stand Finish inhale Mountain 3

4 1. STRENGTH WEIGHT ON HANDS Crawl on hands and knees Crawl with knees 1 inch from floor 4-point base (or plank) weight shifting SHOULDERS, BACK, CHEST Scapular protraction & retraction in plank High plank hold Chaturanga hold (low plank) Push-ups Push-up variations: Dolphin Down dog Wide Arm Tricep (chaturanga) Archer Single leg Stagger arms Sprawl FLOATING & JUMPING Tuck handstand jump ups Tuck handstand jumping side to side Floating frog (downdog to yogi squat) Pike (straight leg) hops from down dog JUMP THROUGHS Sock slide through & back with blocks Jump to tops of feet Jump-through to L-sit Jump-back to chaturanga FALLING Cartwheel Front roll Drop to wheel pose Strength refers to your muscular power and how much weight your body can lift, press, or pull. Perform each exercise, or 1-2 from each category, for a set number of reps (usually 8-12) or hold for seconds. CORE Boat pose Plank Side plank Forearm plank Walking plank Supine hollow body Prone Hollow body L-sit Superman ARMS Dumbell curls Tricep extensions Tricep kickbacks Side raises Flies Other arm exercises LEGS Squats Single leg squats Lunges Side lunges Standing single leg extension 4

5 2. FLEXIBILITY HIPS & HAMSTRINGS Forward folds Child s pose Pigeon Lotus or half lotus Yogi squat Sage Sage twist Flexibility is the stretchability of your muscles, particularly how they adapt to being lengthened. Hold and breathe in these poses for at least seconds, or 5-15 full breaths. There are so many poses you can do, I have no listed them all. I recommend practicing yoga, either at home or in a class. BACK, CHEST, & CORE Wheel or bridge Interlaced hands behind the back Puppy pose L-shoulder stretch on a wall or chair Reverse plank Bound hand variation in any pose 5

6 3. MOBILITY SPINE Waist twists Side bends Upper body circles Cobra roll Rolling wave Mobility focuses on the range of motion in regards to the muscles surrounding your joints. Perform each exercise or hold for 30 sec to 1 minute. OR choose a number of reps (usually 10-20) and perform each exercise that number of reps. HIPS Gorilla (squat) walk and hop S-seat side to side High kick/knee Crescent kick/knee SHOULDERS Arm swings Rotator cuff rotations Strap shoulder movement 6

7 BEGINNER ARM BALANCE POSES L-sit Swinging Pendant Full Side Plank Crow/Crane Baby Crow Side Crow Tri-pod Headstand Headstand Flying Lizard Revolved Flying Lizard Fallen Angel Elephant Trunk Shoulder Squeezing 8-angle Peacock You re warmed up and ready to go! Try out some beginner arm balance poses listed here. Counter these arm balance postures with some gentle twists and back bends as well as a relaxing child s pose. EXAMPLES IN PICTURES: Crane/Crow Side Crane/Crow Flying Lizard Eight Angle Lifted Lotus Swinging Pendant Side Angle Flying Pigeon Forearm Scorpion 7

Stretches & Poses After You Wake Up. Dynamic Stretching Before Workout / Activity. Post Workout Stretches

/? 2 K T Stretches & Poses After You Wake Up Performing these stretches and yoga poses as soon as you wake up is recommended if you want to relieve tension, aches, improve flexibility and mobility, avoid