Arm balances are considered the hardest set of poses in Yoga, but are the most empowering. We love to look at them on posters, and performed by seasoned yogis, but soon enough we come to terms with the fact that they are out of our league. That’s not quite true, though. Just like any pose there is a comprehensive and gradual way to build into arm-balances safely. Clearly, they require upper arm and body strength as well as certain flexibility in the joints and tendons, but most of all arm-balances need full command over weight distribution.

It took me at least 5 years of daily yoga practice to figure out the technique of arm-balances. Yes, strong arms help, but the trick is how much weight you distribute through all body parts. Infact, arm -bearing poses are about striking the balance between grace and grit.

The very first ingredient to a safe arm-balancing practice is proper alignment. If your joints are not correctly stacked, you risk injuring yourself early on and hating arm-balances for life. Weather the elbows or shoulders track over the wrists, it is important to get the foundation right. The fingers always fan out and you feel like you are pulling out of your wrists, while firming up the upper arms.

Next, you need to play with the weight shift and the even distribution of weight. We are anatomically different, so this part of the practice is very body specific. Making sure nothing hurts is the first step. Once I get the proper weight distribution, I like to take it a notch down and test the balance on my forearms. Once I get that, Iam ready to take flight.

Before we take flight, however, there’s one more thing to consider. We need to work from the core. The actual lift happens from the abdominal corset. When we engage the side and central abdominals, we create a plateau from which we can shift the weight forth. By then our joints are stacked, the weight is evenly spread and our core is engaged.

Now comes the fun part – taking flight. This is where you just need to go for it. Remember, you can only fall to the floor. Gravity will pick you up and help you rebound. You have to brave the challenge and simply jump. If you fall, you fall. You just fell. You didn’t fail. Soon enough you will get excited to try and fall, and try again, and one day you will stay up there like an eagle perched on the crown of a giant tree overlooking the mundane affairs from an enlightened perspective. Ha, ha, ha.

And all you have to do is TRY. Imagine all the fun that you’ll be missing if you don’t try. So next time you approach your favorite arm-balance get the alignment right, feel the weight spreading evenly through the entire surface, zip your core and JUMP. It’s about honing that quality of leaping and not overthinking too much. This will definitely teach you when to leap impulsively towards the next challenges and when to scrutinize the situation carefully before you make your move. Life situations require both, but without being able to brave the challenges on the way, you won’t be able to tap your power.

Arm-balancing Yoga Routine: Brave The Challenge (intermediate level)

This empowering routine will take you through various supported arm balances so you can build strength and flexibility and confront the odds of life with grace and grit.