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Lines and curves in Central Park on a beautiful summer day ❤️ ps. there was some pretty great background music playing while I was here - you can catch it all on my stories, along with more pretty pics from the park 😍
Hello Handstand. 👋🏼 This pose is hands-down (sorry, cheesy pun 😜) the one I get asked about the most - comments, e-mails, & messages all wanting to know how to find hang time. I also frequently get asked how long it took me to learn to handstand. Now I can answer that with a numerical value (a few months from the time I genuinely started working on it), but the real answer is that there is no universal length of time it takes to learn this pose. Not only does it vary for each individual, but once you do find it, there's always room to improve. 👌🏼 If you've recently started to hold your handstand there is a good chance it looks something like the image on the left - I know mine did. The truth is that most of us are so happy to actually be holding this for more than 1.2 seconds than to notice anything else, like alignment or form 😂 So congrats on finding some balance here, but now let's take a look at how to improve the body positioning, because that is what will help you hold this pose longer & keep your spine happy while you're there. 👍🏼 The main thing to keep in mind is that we want our handstand to be straight - the wrists, shoulders, hips, and ankles should all be stacked (see middle photo). The photo on the left, aka the 'banana-back handstand' 🍌, shows what happens when the body is not aligned or engaged - the back is sinking, straining the body, & there is no control in the pose. 👎🏼 We want the back to be in a neutral/hollow position, the shoulders fully extended, & the hands actively pushing the ground away. The quads, core, arms & shoulders are all actively engaged. Toes are pointed and inner thighs & glutes are squeezing together. 🍑💪🏼 A great way to work on alignment without having to worry about balance is to use the wall (see image on the right). With your front body facing the wall, fully extend your arms and shoulders (no bending), & keep your shoulder blades broad and lifted. Now get the hips over the shoulders & wrists without allowing the back arch. 👌🏼 Did you guys find this helpful? Tag a friend who is learning to handstand, & let me know if you want me to keep sharing more of these tutorials! ❤️ Happy practicing! 😍
'When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.' ~Eckhart Tolle ✨💙✨
'Some people around you will not understand your journey. They don't need to; it's not for them.' ✨❤️✨ PC: @sigismondiphotography - Loves, here is your final reminder, for a chance to win a FitBit kit or an Amazon gift card simply post a pic of yourself working out & use these two hashtags: 😍 #WorkoutWednesday #Molinasweepstakes
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will just be the beginning. ✨❤️✨ #everyendisanewbeginning
You were not meant to hide your magic from the world. You were meant to bloom, you were meant to soar. 🌸🦋🌺 Ps. Thank you guys for all the positive feedback on my last post! Im so glad it was helpful, and I will be sure to include more of them back here once again! 💗
It's been awhile since I posted one of these pointer pics, but I've had a number of inquiries lately about help with poses and alignment. So today I wanted to share a few tips with you about Chaturanga Dandasana, a foundational pose that is often performed incorrectly, in the hopes of helping you to avoid shoulder injury and to strengthen your practice. 💪🏼 First of all, don't feel too bad if your Chaturanga currently looks something like the top photo, this happens a lot, and I'm fairly certain that my Chaturanga had some serious resemblance to that one for quite some time at the beginning of my yoga practice 😂 The most important thing to keep in mind here is to maintain shoulder stability. When the shoulders aren’t stabilized you are putting undue stress on the soft tissue which can lead to some serious joint damage over time. 👎🏼 You can see in the very top photo what occurs when there is no shoulder stability - the chest is sinking way down, the elbows are moving too far back & opening out to the sides, the wrists and neck are strained, the back is arched, & the hips are lifting up too high. Whew - just holding the pose like that for a few seconds was very stressful on the body! Now imagine repeating it that way numerous times in a practice... your body will not be thanking you. 🙈 Now let's take a look at the middle photo. Notice how the arms are in line with the torso, and there is one straight line from head down to the feet. To protect the shoulders, your torso needs to be at the same level as your elbows, the upper back & core have to be engaged, & your elbows should be hugging inward so that your inner arms are touching the sides of your body. This maximizes stability and protects your beautiful shoulders. 🙌🏼 Because this pose is so demanding, it's common to have to modify until you feel strong enough to hold it. One modification is to lower the knees to the ground, as shown in the bottom photo. This takes weight out of the arms & lightens the load on the body. 😅👍🏼 Did you guys find this helpful? Let me know if you did and if want me to start sharing more of these again! ❤️ Happy Friday and happy practicing! 😍
You don't have to be fearless, just don't let fear stop you. ✨❤️✨ Making shapes by one of the coolest doors in Brooklyn. Captured by the wonderful @barisonzi_photo
I haven't posted a transformation photo in a really long time, but I was sorting through files on an old computer yesterday when I came across this photo on the left. I actually remember taking that picture (about 3.5 years ago) and trying so hard to get my toes to touch my head in this variation. My handstand practice wasn't all that solid yet, and I wasn't equipped with too much time while upside down, but you can see from the look on my face that indeed I was trying. 😅 Seeing that old photo made me want to give this variation another shot (it's not one I practice often). I didn't set any expectations for myself, it was more out of curiosity than anything, but I was happily surprised to feel my toes grazing my hair, and more importantly, how much more stable I felt accessing this pose. 💙 I don't always look back, but when I do it's nice to see how far I've come. My practice has evolved so much, and though it's not not always possible to show other aspects of this growth, know that along with this physical transformation, there has been an even larger personal evolution. 🙏🏼 For anyone that would like to know some of the poses that are helpful for accessing the asana above: 1. Downward dog 2. Cobra pose 3. Puppy pose 4. Dolphin pose 5. Low lunge with arms reaching up 6. Camel pose 7. King cobra pose 8. Handstand practice facing the wall Also, here's your friendly reminder: every Wednesday you have a chance to win a FitBit kit or an Amazon gift card. Just post a pic of yourself working out & use these two hashtags: 😍 #WorkoutWednesday #Molinasweepstakes
'To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.' Ralph Waldo Emerson ✨💜✨ After all these years I still find this quote to be more relevant than ever. Whether it's the real world or the digital one, always remember that life is too short to waste even one moment wishing or trying to be anyone other than you. You are one of a kind. You are beautiful and perfect just the way you are. Please don't hide your magic, we need more of it in our world. 🌎 photography by @sigismondiphotography
The colors of Soho in the early morning light... ❤️#theseareafewofmyfavoritethings Good morning and Happy Monday, loves 😘