Pose 2 (Intermediate): Handstand — Adho Mukha Vrksasana
"With all asana (a still yoga post), the process and refinement of any posture is part of the pose. Adho Mukha Vrksasana can start with legs up 90 degrees on the wall and evolve to kicking onto a wall directly. The final step would be getting yourself off of the wall and onto the edge of your mat. Whether you kick or float to get yourself upside down, consider your basic alignment. Your base starts at your hands, with your fingertips clawing the mat to help you to stay balanced. Push through your arms to hold your upper body up as opposed to letting the weight of your body fall into your hands. A lot of students tend to dump the pose in their lower back, and this can lead to injury. For me, the most important piece of alignment is tucking the tailbone, bringing the rib cage in and finding a way to feel the spine stack. Flexing the feet and pushing them toward the sky while keeping the legs zipped up with one another helps stabilize the pose."

Photographed by Justin Namon