Bye-Bye Banana Back: 2 Drills to Straighten Your Inversions

"Why can't I achieve a straight line in my inversions?"

How many times does this frustrated thought run through your mind while re-watching videos or looking at photos of your practice?

Whether you are upside down balancing on your hands or on your forearms, it's the same old story.

Maybe you have been playing with inversions for a while, working on getting the right mindset and being consistent with your practice...

And now you are balancing upside-down like a badass ninja, but you find yourself in the dreaded, yet infamous, banana back club. But you are not liking this membership; because you want that STRAIGHT LINE.

You get into the pose and you feel that icky arch in your back but, the moment you try to straighten your spine, you fall out.

You keep asking yourself:  “What is preventing me from holding a straight handstand and pincha?”
I must admit, the most common reason for the issue itself is not very helpful in explaining the root cause.
Most of us complain about “banana back,” but let me let you in on a little secret…

Your back is actually NOT your problem in inversions!!

This is the perfect example of why we always need to consider the body a whole system, where everything is interconnected and has an impact on other parts of your body (which you may never have considered).

Move your magnifying glass, Sherlock, because the one thing staying between you and the straight line is your SHOULDERS! 

“Whaaat!?”
I know, “It is not elementary, my dear Watson!”

Let me explain it while you pick your jaw up off the floor.

The "banana back" actually has little to do with your spine. 

It is your body compensation mechanism for tight shoulders.

If you lift your arms overhead and they cannot get right by your ears (a 180 degree angle between the triceps and the side of the ribs), the infamous banana back is almost inevitable.

Why? Because what tends to happen when you are upside down is that your spine must make up for the angle of your shoulders by creating a backbend so that you can balance.
 
We often talk about shoulder strength and how scapular protraction becomes important for arm balances and inversions. But it's actually shoulder flexibility that becomes a roadblock in nailing your straight-lined inversions.

Look at these pictures below and pay attention to the angle between the triceps and the chest, at how much the armpits are “open”. Compare it with the depth of the backbend.

In the first picture where the shoulders are more closed, the backbend needs to be deeper to allow for the balance.
In the second picture, where the armpit angle is wider, the spine line is straighter.

What can you do to fix your alignment and find a straighter line?

Here are 2 easy but effective things to do before your inversions practice:

1) “Puppy pose” on steroids. 

• Start in a table top position. Grab some blocks, put them shoulder distance apart, and place your forearms on the blocks.

• Curl your tailbone under round your spine as if you're heading towards cat pose. This will allow you to get the lower back out of the equation.


• From this position, press your chest towards the floor without losing your core engagement.


• This will really help you open up those shoulders to get that back nice and straight in your inversions.
  

2) Open your shoulders using MFR (Myofascial Release).

• The lats muscles are one of the big movers preventing you from fully extending your arm overhead.
• Lay on your side and place a block right under your armpits, pressing with the long narrow side against your side rib. Stay still or gently move back and forth allowing the block to sink into the muscle.
• Breathe where you feel tension. Stay for a minute and then move to the other side.

 
(If you fall in love with this sweet but incredibly effective way of opening your body, check out our full course on Myofascial Release to get out of pain and create space in your body today!)

If you try these drills, I invite you to do a before and after picture. Get into your favorite inversion without opening the shoulders and snap a picture. Then repeat it the same pose after working on your shoulder flexion and let me know if you notice any difference!

Most importantly though....if I'm honest....Let go of perfection! Ask yourself WHY you covet that perfect straight line. If it comes from a place of wanting to challenge yourself, great!
But if it comes from a place of wanting to "look right," consider that a backbendy inversion is just as valid as a non backbendy one.

You get to experience the FREEDOM and JOY of being upside down rather than chase perfection :)

Want more tips like these? This is EXACTLY what we do in Yogi Flight School! Check out our free inversion training and discover the most effective way to boost your upside-down practice!