Ease into arm balances yoga practice

Some yoga students view arm balance poses as an invigorating challenge and others as an insurmountable hurdle. The yoga practice below is for those who fall into the latter category—those who feel their stomach clench when their yoga teacher mentions arm balances.

It is one thing to consciously decide that arm balances are not appropriate for you (if you have wrist or shoulder injuries, for example). But being scared of them is another story altogether. In reality, there is nothing to be scared of—most balance poses can be done in stages to reflect the student’s physical ability.

In this yoga practice we use props for all three arm balance poses to make it a bit easier for you to experiment and figure out what your body is capable of. You will still need to approach those poses with caution, but you might surprise yourself when you try them. Since arm balances require extensive preparation, even if you skip some or all of the arm balancing postures, you will still loosen up your neck and shoulders. So give it a shot and see how it feels!

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