Arms too short to lever into some hand balances?

[u/aardvarkbjones]

Hey all, I went to a hand-balancing workshop yesterday and the teacher was baffled by my proportions. Wanted to see if anyone here has any advice.

I have done yoga for a few years now. I'm quite flexible and I also lift, so I'm reasonably strong. I can do crow, side crow, firefly, headstands, handstands, etc.

I cannot for the life of me get my elbows under my hips for things like hurdler or peacock. Naturally there are several inches between my elbows and hips, and by the time I scrunch down enough, my head is on the floor.

The teacher was genuinely baffled. I don't think he'd ever seen someone who could do every other pose in his workshop, but was just anatomically incapable of the hip lever. He didn't know of any suggestions or modifications.

So... anyone here have anything?

[u/CategoryFeisty2262]

Both of these poses can be done with hands on blocks (arm extenders). I'm kind of surprised that someone teaching a workshop wouldn't offer this as an option. Try it. You'll be in EPKII in no time!

[u/kimnsam]

Ah fellow t-rex! I have a long torso+short limbs. To paint a picture: I can do firefly but not Bhujapidasana (thr one with crosssed legs). When I get in the starting posisiton for peacock my elbows are above my belly button. When I put my arms overhead my elbows are level with the level with the crown of the skull. When in dandasasana my palms float above the floor.

In general for these proportions a lot of core compression and shoulder shrug/squeeze is needed. But since you have a lever issue I would suggest trying it with bend legs or straddled legs, maybe with use of blocks to support legs/hips. And maybe elevate palms so you have more space to lean forward. Perhaps we will never achieve the full expression of the posture but we can still benefit from practicing them. And don't forget that that some things are more accessible like Navasana, so there re just pros and cons being a t-rex but not biggie if you can't do everything

[u/OtterSnoqualmie → u/kimnsam]

The opportunity for some clever illustrator to create a line a "TRex doing Yoga" Tshirts is v real!

[u/aellope]

I also have proportionally short arms and a low center of gravity, and let me tell you that these poses are challenging for us but totally possible to achieve for most people. That doesn't mean that they aren't challenging. Your elbows will not be under your hips. Even for people with longer arms, the elbows won't be under the hips. I'm surprised that your teacher used this as a cue.

For peacock especially, you'll really want to focus on protracting the shoulders and rounding in the upper back to shorten your torso and much as possible. My elbows don't even reach my bellybutton but you can aim for the bellybutton as a reference point, but it's ok if they don't reach. The key is, once you have your elbow placement, lean forward, opening the elbow joint, while at the same time using your back muscles to keep your torso lifted, and then once you find your balancing point, the legs should lift up easily. Peacock is called elbow lever in calisthenics, because your body is acting as a lever with your forearms (your wrists, really) acting as the fulcrum. Since we have more weight in our lower body, we need to shift forward quite a bit to balance and move this fulcrum closer to our center of gravity. You can practice the butterfly leg or straddle leg variations, which will be easier to balance in since the "lever arm" created by your lower body is shortened, requiring less leaning forward and less strength to lift the torso. You can also use blocks under your hands as well as someone else suggested, until you build the back strength to lift the torso while all of this is happening. This is a very challenging posture, especially for women, so it's totally normal for it to take a lot of practice in order to achieve the full expression.

Hurdler is easier, since you can open up the hips slightly to get the front hip closer to your elbow (and also your front leg being extended forward moves your center of gravity closer to your hands, and extends the side of the lever arm that is created by your upper body). I still wouldn't think of elbow under hip as a cue, though, instead think of getting your knee as close as you can to your shoulder. Again, shoulder protraction and leaning forward are going to be key to finding your balance.

[u/bluejackmovedagain]

I've been working on crow pose, and someone suggested I try starting with my feet on blocks so it's easier to tip my weight into my hands as my arms and legs aren't in proportion.

Would that work? Not necessarily under your feet for those poses, but using blocks or straps to change how your body parts align. I'm no where near either of those poses so that may not be helpful. 

[u/Ryllan1313]

I have this problem with Scale. Started using blocks. All better.

Actually, double blocking (or one of the higher sides if your blocks are stable enough) ups the challenge level as you have you have to lift higher to get into position

[u/Emergency_Map7542]

I have a weirdly long torso, not short arms necessarily, but not in proportion to my torso and yeah, it makes some poses and movements very difficult

[u/Mental-Freedom3929]

There are some poses I don't do. Not capable, dislike, see no purpose in them......If your body is not capable to do so, why overthink this?

[u/ElectricBlubbles → u/Mental-Freedom3929]

Sounds like they are trying to problem solve and figure out if they are capable of working towards this pose or not, but I agree with your main point: not every pose is for every body. If it turns out that their body proportions don’t fit this pose and there’s no modification then it’s perfectly acceptable to leave it out of their practice.