Handstand 101: Wrist and Hand Basics Part 1

I've learned so much since I committed myself to a daily handstand practice three years ago. First of all, you are never too old to start. OK, maybe you can be too old at some point but, if you are, you probably don't want to handstand anyway. Second, if you are not a naturally patient person, you will become one.

There is a zen quality about being upside down. Time expands. The senses you rely on narrow in their input and ones you don't pay attention to become a major source of learning. That's just my perception of what is happening. Biologically, a whole slew of awesome things occur. However, before you can run, you have to learn to crawl and, if you pay attention to the details, these early days (months) will be a vehicle to a newly expanded physical self-awareness.

Much like the lowly ankle joint, no one thinks of their wrists until there is pain. If you are a body weight athlete, then you might remember a time when your wrists were not conditioned for the work you were doing. I teach a style of yoga that keeps you on your hands at least half the time. It never fails, half-way through, and maybe even earlier, new students are dropping to their knees, making a fist with one hand and holding the wrist with the other. They feel pain, but they don't have to.

I never did pre-hab in the early days, I just got some wrist pain and worked through it. Just like a good parent doesn't want his child to make the same mistakes he did, I don't want you to feel that pain. It's not a part of the process and totally avoidable. I was lucky, mine wasn't that bad, I had been doing lots of vinyasa, push-ups, planks, some arm balances for years before I started with the handstand work.

So here are the basics, distilled into a tincture. Bring the awareness into these 3 key components until they become a natural part of your movement work.

1.  Activate your hands! I can't say this enough. I work with amazing athletes but sometimes I look down and see these limp, inactive hands. You know when you shake someone's hand but it's more like a soft caress...unexpectedly weird. When your hands become a weight bearing base you've got to caffeinate, activate, stimulate and innervate those jello filled latex gloves and get the prana flowing!  
2. Stretch your wrists! If you lack the wrist mobility, it'll be hard to handstand. Start with the obvious. Stretch your wrists in the direction you need them to bend. But don't forget to take the stretch in the other direction, it'll feel really good.
3. Seek to correct imbalances! Often, wrist pain may show up on only one side. It might not even be your weak side. If you have a weaker shoulder, you might inadvertently bear more weight in the stronger shoulder, therefore placing more workload into the wrist of your "stronger side". Pay attention to how you enter and exit your handstand, spend time focusing on your non-dominant side. Bring it up to speed, this might mean you need to work the flexibility of your hamstrings or strength of your shoulder girdle and core. By doing more unilateral movements (i.e. one arm planks, side planks) you will have a better idea of where to focus your efforts.

Long Time No Blogy-blog

So, 3 days ago I was getting prepped for my first surgical experience. Less than 4 weeks before, my doctor found a really big ovarian cyst...with a mass...not because I was having any symptoms but just in a routine exam. The appointment was supposed to be a quick renewal of my IUD (tmi? I don't think so) where I was hoping to get out quick to catch up with a friend over coffee but did a 180 to "You might need a hysterectomy...it could be cancer."

Just keep smiling, breathing, don't think, just listen. Do whatever your doctor says. Call your insurance. Cancel the coffee talk. Go home and tell your husband.

I tried to stay stoic but, once I drove away from that appointment, I sobbed a little. And when I got home, a lot. Just for a few minutes and in my husband's arms. He has this saying, says it all the time, "It's going to be fine." Less than 2 days later I got the results of the CA-125 test, numbers look good, it's not cancer. Yippee!

A week goes by and no word from the oncologist's office. Why do I need an oncologist anyway? Finally, I get that appointment I've been waiting for. Looks like I need surgery, and soon. Finally digesting all the challenges to my work/life that I'll be experiencing in the near future, I go for pre-op and learn a new term - borderline tumor.

Much to my dismay, not all masses are clearly malignant or benign. There's a gray zone of unknown that left me making decisions about what needs to happen when I'm on the table based on what the doctors see once inside. I'm not the best at making decisions and try to avoid surgical stuff in every way I can. Examples of this avoidance:

• having 2 kids via mid-wifery sans hospital, no drugs
• living with bunions and tailor's bunions on both feet
• keeping my saggy boobs despite my husband's "encouragement" of getting them "fixed"

No thanks, I'll keep myself just the way I am. But I was asked to decide, if it looked questionable, whether I wanted full staging while I was in the OR, to find out what happened after I awoke or to possibly need a second surgery after I healed from the first. Man, this is a hard decision. I still don't feel qualified to make these choices, even about my own body.

Fortunately, it was not a borderline tumor. It was a dermoid or teratoma, almost always benign and the mass included TEETH! I do love horror movies;) I still don't have all the details and I have so many questions.

So here I am, same body but with a few less internal parts and a few more holes. At this moment, I just can't believe how long a day feels. It feels like a just had a baby (without the trauma down under). I'm uncomfortable but dealing, refocusing and re-imagining the near future.