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Bowed elbows
I have been working my handstands for a while now. The thing is that my arms don’t fully extend. Meaning that my elbows always have a slight bend in them. They always have. My pole instructor has never really seen this before and has been helping to coach my on my hand placement for handstands, but I’m still not quite getting it.
If my hands are placed the same width apart as most people, my shoulders and way out as well as my elbows. But if shoulders and arms are correct, my hands are nearly on top of each other making balance very hard. I have also tried turning my hands inward and out ward more.
Does anyone else have this problem and if so, what tricks have you learned.
Thanks!!
-Felicia
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6 Replies
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Having similar problem with elbow stands. Its like, if my hands are as close as they are supposed to be, there is no "tripod" effect. but if I put my hands out wide, its not at all like how Veena's lessons are teaching, so I haven't done it. I don't have anyone working with me at all, and I so badly want elbow and hand stands.
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I just find a hand stand so much easier than using my elbows….I know that's not technically correct, but works for me. 🙂
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I was seeing elbow stand as kind of a prerequisite to hand stand. I could always do the “cartwheel into a wall until you don’t fall back down” method, but I’ve really been trying to do everything “proper”. It feels so slow to progress. Sometimes I wish I was little so I had a bit more natural intuition about my body and how it moves…
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I can very easliy hand stand up towards the wall or onto my pole, than elbow stand to either. Odd.
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Veena has those beautiful long legs, I don't think I can get my rump over my torso on my elbows with my feet still on the ground walking me up to it the way she does in the lesson. I know that thats not the ONLY way, but the woman amazes me lol. I challenged my husband to do it because he said it was so easy. He basically did a downward dog and bailed with a "Nevermind, you're right, its hard, and I can't do it."
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Felicia, I have a similar issue. My arms create a "Y" shape , so it puts too much strain on the joints of my elbows, wrists, and shoulders. I also tend to use my biceps more than I have to. I have to modify just about every move out there.
I talked to a physiotherapist and she gave me two things to try.
The first is kind of similar to the inward/outward motions that you tried, but it is more of a shift in the hand placement to change how the weight is distributed. Hope I can explain this properly. Get on all fours. Place your palms flat on the floor, then lean your weight into the hands. You should feel the weight distributed across the base/meat of your hand. Now, without moving your hand's placement, shift/pivot the weight more towards the base of your thumb, just under your wrist. You should feel a difference in the elbow and shoulder and wrist.
The next one might be difficult to explain, as it is more of a mental shift, and requires you to have an open mind about how positive energy/flow can affect your body. Get a partner and stand face to face. Place your hand on their shoulder, arm straight but not locked. Flip your arm so the palm is facing up. Have them GENTLY pull down on your arm at the crook of the elbow, while you resist. We tend to use our biceps when we resist. Now comes the tricky part. Stand in the same starting position. Close your eyes. Envision positive energy flowing from your shoulder, down your arm, and straight out beyond your fingertips. Then ask your partner to again, gently pull down while you resist. See if you feel any difference. This may take some practice and handstands would be a perfect exercise for this. The first tim eI did this I was amazed at how much more solid my arm was and she was not able to bend my arm like the first time.
Hope these tips help. Good Luck!
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