How to do a handstand

There is a big myth that handstands are all about core strength. For most people, Ben finds, the core is not the limiting factor: the shoulders are. A handstand is like standing, just upside down. Your bodyweight stacks through your skeleton, and your shoulders become the base that carries it, the way your hips and legs do when you stand.

So push the ground away from you as hard as you can, with your shoulders right up by your ears. In yoga you are often told to let your shoulders relax down your back; in hand balancing you do the opposite. Strong people are usually held back by tight shoulders and need to stretch them open. Flexible people are usually held back by unstable shoulders and need to strengthen them.

Warm up thoroughly, as you would for any exercise class. Get the blood flowing and your heart rate up with full-body movements such as star jumps or running on the spot, then mobilise your ankles, knees, hips and spine. A good warm-up reduces the chance of injury.

Your wrists matter most, because they carry your weight. Do wrist circles, wave your arms loosely, then stretch your wrists in every direction. Warm your hamstrings too, since so many handstand drills start from a forward bend.

The wall is your friend. Put your hands on the ground about a foot from the wall and simply jump until one foot touches it. These toe taps teach your mind where the wall is and make going upside down feel familiar.

Then bring the second leg up, and build straight holds from 20 seconds towards a minute. Push the ground away, squeeze your legs together and film yourself so you can see how straight you are. When that feels familiar, take one foot off the wall, put it back and swap to the other, slowly and with your legs straight, until you can stop in the middle and find a moment of balance.

Later, turn round and walk your feet up the wall so that you face it, with your nose and hips close to the wall. That builds strong, stable shoulders and teaches straight alignment. Finish a wall session with a shoulder stretch: lower your bum to the wall, push your chest through and let your shoulders open.

Ben gives every beginner the same two drills. A beginner's handstand comes down to two things: a controlled entry, and balance once you are there.

For the entry, step into a lunge, put your hands on the ground and take a little hop, leaving your legs in a split. One foot always stays closer to the ground, ready to come back down, which keeps it safe. For the balance, kick up into a split with one foot on the wall and swap your feet one at a time. Practise both on each side, keep your legs straight and your toes pointed, and value consistent reps over getting up and staying there. Combine the two and you will be able to kick up and hit your balance.

Two drills done consistently will take you further than fifty done now and then. Be comfortable with small, steady improvements.

Before you practise freestanding, learn how to get out. If you go over the top, step one hand round and let it cartwheel you out; don't let yourself fall onto your back unless you are over a crash mat. Practising cartwheels both ways makes that exit automatic.

If you are unsure at any stage, put a crash mat down or ask a friend to spot you at the hips. Always keep enough energy to come down safely, and rest when your shoulders get tired: tired shoulders don't respond well to balance.

Every handstand shape is a combination of three angles: shoulders, spine and hips. To balance, your centre of gravity has to be over your hands, so if one part of you goes one way, another part has to counterbalance it.

Most people have slightly tight shoulders. For them the easiest shape lets one or both legs hang over the top, a straight handstand comes next, and a tuck is hardest, because it needs the most open shoulders. None of that is about willpower: it is centre of gravity. Practising handstands opens the shoulders over time, and stretching speeds it up.

So don't stress about a perfectly straight line at the start. Balance the shape your body allows today, keep your legs tense and your toes pointed, and work towards straight as your shoulders open.

Once the basics feel familiar, explore other entries. A cartwheel carries you sideways into the balance and can finish in a straddle or a straight handstand. Yoga practitioners can learn to float from downward dog to a forward fold through a handstand, starting with small jumps and building up to a straight handstand and a soft pike down. Splitting your legs lowers your centre of gravity, so a straddle or split shape is easier to balance than a straight handstand with your feet together.

When your balance becomes consistent, work on pressing your bodyweight. Press-ups and chaturanga alone only teach your arms to press about half of it, because your feet carry the rest. Crow drills, from rocking and jumping into crow to pressing your knees off your elbows, and negatives, lowering from a tucked handstand into crow, build towards pressing up from crow.

A press to handstand from standing is mostly a flexibility move. The better your forward fold, the less shoulder strength you need to get your centre of gravity over your hands so that your feet float up. So spend real time stretching your hamstrings and hips, and build the front of your shoulders with pulses against the wall. Practise with your feet raised on a step or blocks first, then work down towards the floor.

There is no magic bullet. Patience, consistency and repetition over a long period of time are what work. Keep an attitude of playfulness and experimentation, focus on what feels good for your body, and don't compare yourself with anyone else: people who did gymnastics as children often find this easier, and everybody's body is different.

Keep your legs tense and your toes pointed, because body tension makes balance easier to control. Push the ground away in every drill. Take a photo of yourself now and then to see your shape. It might take weeks, months or even years, and that is normal.