4 Ways to Get Into Chin Stand
Chin Stand also known as Ganda Bherundasana in Sanskrit (the language of yoga), is translated as Formidable Face Pose. Chin Stand is one of the advanced yoga postures, it is both an inversion as well as an arm balance.
Some benefits of this posture include strengthening the back, arms, and chest, as well as improving flexibility in the back and chest. Besides the physical benefits, this posture is great at helping you get over fear and learn to trust your body so that other yoga postures such as Handstand or other more complicated arm balances aren’t as scary. Not to mention it is super fun to get into and incorporate into your vinyasa flow and sun salutations once you are able to get it right.
This posture may seem elusive and unattainable, but once you build the strength and more importantly once you let go of FEAR you will be floating up to it before you know it!
Caution: If you have any neck issues, you might want to hold off on trying this asana until you can build up enough strength in the upper body so that you are fully confident in your body’s ability to support you.Â
Read below to learn about which postures help you to build up strength in your practice.
Warm Up for Getting Into Chin Stand
Before jumping right into any advanced yoga posture, warming up is essential. It is essential because you want to be able to check in with your body and warm it up so that you don’t pull any muscles or hurt yourself.
- Start by sitting up and taking a few deep belly breaths
- With the hands on the knees, begin to move the shoulders up back and down circling them around and feel your shoulder blades moving along your back. Remember to reverse your direction here.
- Coming back to center, begin moving your neck around in circles. Take your time and really feel it. Remember to reverse directions.
- Lift the arms to the sky, twist to the right taking your right hand behind you and left hand to the right knee, look past your right shoulder. Inhaling come back to center and switch sides.
- Come to your hands and knees, begin with some cats and cows on an inhale, open the heart and arch your back (cow pose), exhale round your spine and bring the chin to the chest (cat pose). Do a couple of these to arm up your spine.
- Back to table top, Move your arms back up and around 3 circles, and reverse it, switch sides.
- Do at least 3 sun salutations to get the body fully warmed up.
Muscles that are targeted in this asana are:
Back: Spinal Extensors
Arms and Shoulders: Infraspinatus and Triceps
Chest: Pectoralis Major and Serratus Anterior
Core: Rectus Abdominis and External Obliques
1. Using Blocks
Blocks are a great support during any and all yoga practices. In Chin Stand we can use the blocks to help us learn the alignment of the pose, the blocks are also great because it takes off some pressure from the chin and shoulders.
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- Align the blocks right underneath the shoulders
- Bend the elbow 90 degrees and place the palms flat down.
- From the knees lift one leg up and then with a LITTLE momentum (please don’t just fling your leg up there!), lift the other leg up.
- For added support go up against a wall if you are still new to this posture and would like the security of the wall.
2. Sunbird Bow
Sun bird bows alone are a great way to build strength in the upper body, not only for Chin Stand but for other arm balance asanas and vinyasa.
Caution: Keep your chest hovering slightly above the ground, and make sure that the chin also does not have too much pressure on it.Â
- Starting in table top, with your wrists right under your shoulders and knees under the hips.
- Lift one leg high to the sky
- Keeping your elbows glued into your ribs, dip your chest and chin down into the floor.
- Remember elbows are lifted and glued right into the ribs.
- Do a few sets like this, not going up into a full chin stand, ensuring that the elbow are tucked into the ribs each time.
- On about your third one have your foot that is on the floor flexed with the toes tucked.
- As you dip your chin and chest towards the floor life the knee and foot up to the sky to meet your other.
- Again, using just a LITTLE momentum to lift both legs up
3. Downward Dog
- Starting in downward facing dog, lift one leg to the sky.
- Move the shoulders over the wrists
- Bend your elbows into your ribs and dip your chest and chin down between your hands.
- Using a LITTLE momentum and A LOT of core lift your other leg up to the sky.
- To come out, lower one leg down at a time and vinyasa through it.
4. Eka Pada Kundinyasana
This is the most advanced option in this chin stand tutorial, because you are going from one advanced posture into another. Once you get it down though, it is a really fun transition.
•If this arm balance is not a part of your practice, then skip this option.
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- Get into Eka Pada Kundinyasana in any way that is part of your practice.
- Once in the balance, start lifting the back leg up to the sky and then lift the leg that is off to the side, feel free to bend your knees to help with the transition.
- Carefully position yourself in the center right in between your elbows. You might notice you are not exactly in the center, you will probably be leaning toward the side of the back leg
Coming Out of Chin Stand
The best way to transition out of a chin stand is through a vinyasa that ends in a child’s pose.
One leg at a time take the legs down lift through the chest, shining your heart through your shoulders in an upward dog or cobra. Drop back into a child’s pose for as along as it feels good for you.
Building Strength for Chin Stand
The shape that we make while in a chin stand, is basically an up dog mixed with a chaturanga, so practicing these two postures will help a lot. Sunbird bows as well as vinyasas with double chaturangas wiil be a great help too.
If you weren’t able to get into it today, don’t sweat it! We never want to rush our yoga journey, enjoy each step of it. Our yoga practice is never ending. Keep building that strength and getting to know your body better so that you can trust it more and let go of your fear of falling over.Â
Wow Tamara, this was a great read! Your demonstrations were very helpful. My favorite is chinstand with the blocks! Thank you for writing this helpful explanation!!!
Thank you for reading Caro!