Health benefits of handstands !

Hand stand are brilliant for your health !

Start with your hands on a floor in an area where there’s nothing around you to bump into.
Jump or tuck up with control and hold the handstand.
Lower yourself down with control.
The key with handstand training? Have fun with it!

handstands strengthen pretty much every muscle in your arms, shoulders, and upper body, making them one of the most beneficial upper body exercises you can do.

Because they require you to stabilize your muscles to keep from falling over, handstands not only work your abs, they also strengthen your hip flexors, hamstrings, inner thigh muscles, and spinal muscles to create a balanced, super-strong core.

They help with bone health, circulation and breathing

When you’re upside down in a handstand, your normal blood floor inverts, increasing circulation to your upper body while relieving pressure on your feet and legs.

They also benefit your spine, increase bone health in your wrists, arms and shoulders, and stretch your diaphragm, your main breathing muscle, which in turn increases blood flow to your lungs.

They can boost your mood and regulate your metabolism

Being upside down not only makes you stronger, it can actually boost your mood, since the extra blood flow to your brain can energize and calm you when you’re feeling down or stressed out.

Handstands can even reduce production of the stress hormone, cortisol, helping to relieve minor depression and anxiety. Plus, since handstands stimulate the thyroid and pituitary glands, they can actually help regulate your metobolic rate—meaning daily handstand practice could help you maintain (or reach) a healthy weight.

Pretty awesome, right?

Take on the handstand challenge:

Ready to rock some handstands? Take on this handstand challenge:

Every morning (or at least 5 days a week), do three handstands against a wall for as long as you can.
Rest 10-20 seconds in between sets, and focus on form the entire time. Try to aim for a total of at least 90 seconds.
If your arms start shaking, don’t worry—that’s a good sign you’re building up your strength!

If any of you have studied yoga you know the value of heacstands , the kissing cousin of the handstand !

1. Relieves Stress

Headstand is known as a cooling posture, meaning that it helps you to draw your attention inwards. This posture is extremely helpful if you are having anxiety, stress, fear or otherwise worrisome thoughts. Combine headstand with long, slow breathing and you have a recipe for stress relief.

1. Increases Focus

When you turn upside down, you are increasing the blood flow to your brain. This can help to improve mental function, and increase you sense of focus.Along with helping to reduce fear and worry, this posture will improve your ability to keep your mind sharp and clear.

1. Improves Blood Flow To The Eyes

When you flip over, you will be sending extra oxygen and nutrient rich blood to the head, and that means more will be getting to your eyes. This can help to prevent macular degeneration and other eye issues.

1. Increases Blood Flow To The Head And Scalp

Headstand is an awesome posture if you want to optimize the nutrient flow to your head and scalp. You can help your body deliver extra nutrients and oxygen to your scalp, thereby improving nutrient delivery to your hair follicles by turning upside down. You never know, perhaps a consistent headstand practice will help you grow a more luscious head of hair!

1. Strengthens Shoulders And Arms

While you are holding yourself up in headstand, you should be pushing down into the ground with your forearms, utilizing the strength of your arms, shoulders and back to keep the pressure off of your head and neck. This is an awesome posture for improving upper body strength and muscular endurance.

1. Improves Digestion

When you allow the effects of gravity to be reversed on your digestive organs, you will help to move stuck material, release trapped gases, as well as improve blood flow to the all important digestive organs — increasing nutrient absorption and delivery to your cells. Again, if you combine headstand with focused belly breathing you will have a double whammy effect.

1. Helps To Flush Out The Adrenal Glands

Going upside-down will squeeze your little adrenal glands, which are responsible for the production of those so-called stress hormones. The cleaner your adrenal glands are, the more optimal they will function. This will help you to adapt to stress better!

1. Decreases Fluid Build-Up In The Legs, Ankles, And Feet

Edema in the legs is no fun, and it can happen if you tend to spend long hours on your feet. Reversing the effects of gravity on your bodily fluids will help to flush out built up water in the legs, relieving the uncomfortable feeling of edema.

1. Develops Strength In The Core Muscles

Headstand is a major core workout. You will rely on your core strength to hold your legs up and keep your balance throughout the pose. Having a strong core makes you more durable and less prone to injury in yoga, and in life overall.

1. Stimulates The Lymphatic System

Your lymph system can also be called your garbage dump system. This network of nodes and fluids help to remove waste products from your blood. When you flip onto your head you will be directly stimulating your lymphatic system and thereby helping to remove toxins from your body. And the brilliant thing about these is you don't need a gym membership or any heavy weights !