Hello Friends!
Today I am breaking two simple but challenging transitions that fit well together or work all on their own. If you haven’t seen the video on my IG already, head over to @leenslens to see the spilt hop & handstand hop switch transitions. These can be used to come into and out of most of your standing postures, and are fantastic ways to build in extra shoulder & core work (road to handstand anyone?!?!?!).
First is the split hop from down dog into crescent lunge (or any other standing pose). It’s important to make sure you’ve warmed the hamstrings up a bit – any split or handstand requires open hammies! Step 1: extend left leg up – keep left pinky toe angled to the floor so hips remain square. Step 2: look between your hands, shift your body weight forward, and wrap the outer arms in towards center. Step 3: draw the belly button in & up, spread the inner thighs apart, and hop the right foot up between your hands (or close to it bc as you can see I didn’t quite make it there). Step 4: set the foundation for your standing posture and inhale to rise.
Next, we look at the handstand hop/switch back to chaturanga. This second transition does require a little more time to get right but it’s fun to play around with. Step 1: plant your hands shoulder width apart and extend your left leg up. Step 2: tuck the right outer hip back, wrap the outer arms in (sound familiar?!?!), and bring your body weight into your hands. Step 3: lift your hips, rise onto your right toes and kick up to handstand. Step 4: leave your right leg extended up, slowly bring left leg towards mat, bend elbows into the sides of your ribs and draw the chest forward. Step 5: keep the core and shoulder girdle tight to land with control in chaturanga. FULL DISCLOSURE – step 4 & 5 will not happen right away…most of us will take step 3 & then head back to vinyasa and that’s okay because this is just yoga!
The goal is to do this every week…we’ll see how it goes! Have fun with sprinkling this into practice!
’til next time, keep smiling! 😉
Livingleen 