Say Goodbye to The Wall: 3 Tips For Freestanding Inversions
When you’re starting your inversion journey, the wall feels like your best yoga buddy: it catches you when you fall, gives you time to reset, and helps you piece together the puzzle of balance.
But as your consistency pays off (read more on staying consistent), it’s time to ditch those training wheels and flow freely in the middle of the room. It’s time to rock your freestanding Handstand and Pincha (Forearm Stand)!
Here are my top tips to say, “Thanks, wall, but I’ve got this!”
How to Stop the Fall
You may not know this yet, but your fingers are your brakes! Gripping the mat helps you stop a fall and fine-tune your balance.
Think of your fingers like the toes of your hands: they sense small shifts in your center of gravity and make micro-adjustments to keep you steady. Since this isn’t second nature (yet), it starts as a conscious effort, but eventually becomes something you do on autopilot.
Here’s how to practice:
- Place your hands close to the wall.
- Kick up into your inversion.
- Activate Hasta Bandha (your hand’s energetic lock) by gripping the mat.
Feel how this action lightens your feet and encourages your legs to float away from the wall? That same grip and lift stop your fall when you’re freestanding.
Play “The Wall Is Lava”
At first, kicking up might sound like BANG! That’s okay—it’s part of the process. Over time, refine your kick-ups so they’re as soft as a feather landing.
Once you’ve nailed that, combine a controlled kick-up with your finger grip to catch balance before your feet touch the wall. Ready for a challenge? Imagine the wall is lava: if you touch it, it’s game over! Start again and keep trying until your body learns to balance mid-air.
Learn how to bail!
Here’s the hard truth: you won’t nail freestanding inversions until you’re confident in your ability to safely bail.
Fear of falling is your brain’s biggest block. Until you teach your nervous system that you can exit safely, it’ll keep you under-kicking out of caution or bailing prematurely. Knowing how to fall without injury gives you the freedom to experiment and grow.
How to bail:
- For Handstand and Pincha, use a mini cartwheel to step out safely.
- Practice small kick-ups and guide one leg outside your hand.
- In Handstand: keep your arms straight and press firmly into the ground.
- In Pincha: maintain forearm pressure on the mat throughout the bail.
Once you’ve got this exit strategy locked down, you can kick up with confidence!
A Few Final Tips
Inversions are a journey, and that journey looks different for everyone. Don’t compare yourself to others. Trust the process, keep practicing, and know that the right mindset (plus these tips) will help you nail your freestanding inversions!
If you’re ready to flip your world upside down, grab our 10 essential handstand drills inside a handy, printable PDF, and finally gain the stamina, balance, and confidence you need to catch some airtime off the wall!
Let’s fly!
