Arm Balances are a subset of yoga postures that involve supporting or balancing your weight on your hands and/or arms. If you are already familiar with yoga, Crow posture and Handstand are good examples of arm balances. Down Dog, Vashistasana (side plank), and Chatturanga could also be considered arm balances to a lesser degree.

I don't teach arm balances for the practicality of it. The truth is that if you're talking about the pure practicality of yoga, if you're talking about preparing your body for the movements you use in everyday life, arm balances are not a necessity. You'll probably never need to stand on your hands unless you get attacked by a rogue band of ninja, and that just doesn't happen as much as it once did.

I teach arm balances because I find that they are about as challenging a core workout as you will ever come across. They also involve a boat load of focus. You can't sit there in Crow and think about what's for dinner the way you can when you're in Warrior I.

But most of all I teach arm balances because I think they are a fantastic exercise in long-term goal-setting. When I first started with them, I never believed that I could do some of the things I can do now. Now that I can, I have concrete, physical examples that with a little practice and a little patience I can in fact do anything I put my mind to. Practicing arm balances has redefined my concept of "impossible." Cheesy, I know, but true.

My arm balances classes are still complete, full-body, power vinyasa flows. We'll just spend a little more time playing with arm balance postures and techniques than usual. If you've never done a lot of these poses before, don't worry, I'll teach you how to approach them safely. If you've already been practicing for a while, these are a great way to add a little extra challenge to your flow.

Don't be scared. Yes, practicing arm balances can be some pretty intense conditioning for both your body and your mind, but it will be equally fun and playful as long as you don't take yourself too seriously.