How to Rise to the Challenge of Yoga Arm Balances

Arm balances are among the most impressive, and intimidating, of all yoga poses. They require immense upper body and core strength, great balance and control, and intense mental focus. Most full arm balance poses are advanced, but even beginners can achieve them with the right progression. 

What Are Yoga Arm Balances? 

The yoga arm balances are poses that require you to support and balance your bodyweight on your hands, like a handstand. They require strength in the wrists, arms, shoulders, and core. They demand incredible balance, spatial awareness, and mental focus. Lose focus for a second, and you can come toppling down. 

True, or full, arm balance poses are extremely challenging. You can work up to them with partial arm balance poses. These poses have the feet on the ground but still challenge the muscles required to do a full arm balance. 

Why Try Yoga Arm Balance Poses? 

Why attempt such difficult poses? There are a lot of benefits to mastering one or more arm balances. In addition to these specific benefits, it’s an interesting and rewarding challenge. 

Get Massive Upper Body Strength

Doing full arm balance poses requires serious upper body strength. These poses tax your shoulders and upper back, all the muscles of the arms, and the wrist muscles. Working up to arm balance poses helps build this strength and prepares you to balance all your weight on these muscles. 

Build Core Strength Too

The upper body and arm strength are the obvious sources of strength in an arm balance pose, but most of the actual balancing comes from the core. You need a strong core to keep your body in these tough positions. By the time you can complete a full arm balance pose, you will have developed impressively strong abs and back muscles. 

Improve Your Spatial Awareness and Reflexes

Yoga arm balances require keen focus. You must be aware of all the parts of your body and how they balance with each other to keep you in place. This is a skill you can build. Initially, you might fall easily, but with time, your improved spatial awareness along with faster reflexes will help you balance and hold these poses for longer than you imagined you could. 

Grow in Confidence

Arm balance poses are very challenging. If you can accomplish just one of these poses, you’ve achieved something most people can’t do. Arm balances are also scary. Falling is a real possibility, and it might hurt. 

Overcoming this fear and building the strength, balance, and focus necessary to perform a successful arm balance is a worthy achievement. You’ll feel good about yourself, your physical abilities, and your mental toughness. 

Preparing for Arm Balances

You can’t simply walk into a handstand without any prep work. When you see impressive yogis twist and balance and hold themselves in crow, hurdler, eight angle, and other arm balance poses, know that they worked hard to get there. 

You too can work your way up to complicated and difficult arm balances, as long as you commit to work for it. Here are some poses you can do to build the strength and balance required for true arm balances: 

• Downward-facing dog. Build shoulder strength with this fundamental pose. 

• Plank pose. Straight-arm, forearm, and side planks are great for developing arm, shoulder, and core strength. 

• Chaturanga. Also known as four-limbed staff pose, you might find this one more difficult than plank. It really challenges the arms, particularly the triceps, as well as the core. 

• Wheel pose. Master wheel pose to develop upper body strength but also to work on balance and focus. 

• Half moon pose. This standing pose requires you to place one hand on the mat. It is good for practicing balance and mental focus. 

Arm Balance Yoga Poses to Try

When you’re ready, try these poses, starting with the easiest and working your way up to the most advanced arm balances. 

Scale Pose

This is the easiest pose that lifts both legs and feet off the ground, putting all your weight in your hands and arms. To do it, start in lotus pose with legs crossed. Place your palms on the floor close to your hips. Engage your core and lift your lower body off the mat. Straighten your arms and lock your elbows. 

Crow Pose

Crow pose is more difficult than scale because it will begin to challenge your balance in a new way. It’s a perfect steppingstone to more difficult arm balances like handstand. 

In crow pose, start with feet and hands on the mat. With your butt high up in the air, place your knees on the backs of your arms, tilt forward and lift your feet off the mat. If you can balance in this position, you’re on your way to doing the more challenging arm balance poses. 

Side Crow

Progress from crow pose to side crow to challenge different core muscles and a new way to balance. To do this pose, twist your knees to one side. With legs pressed together, rest both on just one arm. This shifts your center of gravity and works core muscles in different ways as you maintain balance. 

Eka Pada

From side crow, try eka pada, which requires yet more balance and focus to maintain the position. While in side crow, extend the top leg back and the bottom leg to the side. If you’re very flexible, this will be like doing the splits. It’s not necessary to get that much extension. Continued practice will build strength, flexibility, and balance. 

Elephant’s Trunk

This pose is similar to scale pose but involves extended legs. With your trunk upright, you’ll extend the right leg straight and in between your arms. Your left leg goes outside of the left arm, also extended. 

Eight Angle Pose

Progress from elephant’s trunk pose to this more challenging pose. Shift your hips to the side as you cross both ankles. Your legs will be wrapped around one arm. Your chest should stay parallel to the floor, giving you a twist to the trunk as the hips remain perpendicular. 

Handstand

Handstand is both an arm balance and an inversion pose. Inversions add additional benefits. They boost blood flow, energize the body and mind, and continue to build strength, balance, and focus. 

A handstand is exactly as it sounds. It is a challenging position that requires very strong arm, shoulder, and core muscles and intense focus. Work up to a full handstand with variations like shoulder stand, head stand, and feathered peacock (balancing on the forearms). 

Don’t forget to breathe while doing challenging poses. This guide will help you elevate your yoga breath techniques. 

Tips for Safety and Success

Arm balances are challenging. They are also among the more dangerous yoga poses because of the possibility of a fall. Here are some tips to help you perform these poses successfully, and without getting hurt.

• Go Slowly. Take your time preparing and progressing before trying a more challenging arm balance yoga pose. No one can do a handstand on their first try. Getting there takes patience. Each step, no matter how small, gets you to your final goal. 

• Warm Up. Arm balancing poses tax some parts of the body that aren’t used to it. Do a warm up before doing any of these poses, with a particular focus on the wrists. While doing these poses, protect your wrists by keeping your fingers spread wide as they press into the mat. 

• Create a Safe Environment. There will be falls as you master arm balances. Only practice them in a safe area with plenty of room to fall without striking something. 

• Use Props. There is no shame in using props to aid your poses. Blocks can be very useful for beginners. For example, place a block under your head and under your feet as you try to balance in crow pose. You can gently rest on these to maintain balance without falling and losing the pose entirely. 

• Gaze Forward. It is a natural instinct to look down or toward your body as you try to balance it. This only sabotages your balance. Keep your gaze forward and balancing is much easier.

If you’ve thought about becoming a yoga instructor, check out this guide to yoga certification options. 

Do you love yoga and want to deepen your practice? Have you thought of becoming a yoga teacher? If so, the ISSA’s Yoga Alliance-approved 200-hour yoga teacher training program is for you. Check out this online program approved by the premiere yoga professional organization, the Yoga Alliance.