Pool Practice
Water Handstand
Improves balance and
breath control, and
aligns the pelvis with the
shoulders and hips. Tones
the shoulders and core.
Take a huge inhale and submerge yourself into waist-deep water, placing your hands on the pool floor at least shoulder-width apart (like you’d do on land). Working up from your hands, quickly stack your shoulders directly over your hands, hips over your shoulders, and kick both feet up so they’re directly over your hips. Hold your breath and keep tweaking your postural alignment before lowering your legs and coming up for air. Aim for 8 repetitions with your knees, calves and feet (and maybe even your thighs) sticking out of the water.
Take it to the mat: “Doing a handstand underwater helps you overcome the fear of going upside-down,” says Rea. Also, holding your breath for extended periods of time increases blood circulation and lung capacity.
Take a huge inhale and submerge yourself into waist-deep water, placing your hands on the pool floor at least shoulder-width apart (like you’d do on land). Working up from your hands, quickly stack your shoulders directly over your hands, hips over your shoulders, and kick both feet up so they’re directly over your hips. Hold your breath and keep tweaking your postural alignment before lowering your legs and coming up for air. Aim for 8 repetitions with your knees, calves and feet (and maybe even your thighs) sticking out of the water.
Take it to the mat: “Doing a handstand underwater helps you overcome the fear of going upside-down,” says Rea. Also, holding your breath for extended periods of time increases blood circulation and lung capacity.
