Arm Balance poses in Yoga.

Why its fun, in my opinion, to aim for these harder poses…

Arm balances can be both intimidating & fun & more, many of us yogi’s find it difficult to resist them. I get it see above!

The good news is that there are many arm balance postures & varied difficulty levels, so usually most people can find an arm balance for them. This is where an Arm Balance Workshop comes in handy a space you can try them all & pick one or two that work in your body to really work on. The above pics are the ones we explored during a three hour workshop recently. I do these workshops once or twice a year.

There are many benefits to giving them a go, you just need some strength, patience & dedication.

Arm balances can strengthen our arms, wrists, shoulders, spine, core, & more they provide an alternative way to build these muscles within the practice. They can also help prevent osteoporosis by building a strong & stable upper body, that protects shoulder joints, strengthen bones & muscles. Arm balances can improve balance, spatial awareness & sharpen balance reflexes to help prevent falls. The arm balances all require us to focus & sharpen our concentration & mental discipline. They can be challenging, but gradually you work through fears, like falling or hurting yourself & that builds self confidence. The force us to align the body & use focused attention, bringing mental clarity both these skills very helpful in the rest of life! It’s never too late to begin because your body will respond well to fitness challenges. You can even build muscle & bone mass in the later decades of life, just look to instagram for people starting lifting weights in their 90’s!

Arm balances also build spacial awareness & understanding of the body because you have to find your centre of gravity to balance & understand which muscles to use to stay in the poses. They also require equal amounts of various qualities: strength, flexibility, balance, patience, dedication, open mindedness, practice, neurological resilience, the ability to fail & get up etc.

While I get these poses are not for everyone I do think on many levels they embody the teachings of yoga: do your practice, look after your mind & body to be your best self, work towards your goals but be flexible, patient, consistent, laugh, enjoy the journey & keep learning…