I love handstands! The feeling of being upside down exhilarates me and they are FUN! The only way to get over your fears around handstands are to dive right in and practice them. If you are pregnant or have any back or shoulder injuries, then I would avoid them.
1. They encourage you to let go of your fears.
2. They are FUN! Let the inner child shine through. Let go of your expectations and have some play time!
3. They help build upper body strength. In order to stay upside down for any length of time, you'll need a massive amount of shoulder, arm, and upper back strength. In fact, it's not uncommon for beginners to start shaking after just a few seconds of holding a handstand.
To build up strength, start by holding a handstand against a wall for three sets of 5-10 seconds. Work up to holding them for a minute or two at a time. Practice often, and watch as your upper body strength skyrockets.
4. They are energising, better than a coffee! Energize: Feeling that 3pm slump coming on? Get upside down! Heating inversions such as handstand, headstand, and forearm balance get more blood moving to the brain, which results not only in physical invigoration but mental revitalization as well. - See more at: http://yoganonymous.com/10-benefits-of-yoga-inversions/#sthash.q63kXuYB.dpuf
5. They are calming and relaxing for the nervous system and help alleviate stress, depression and anxiety.
6. Inverting produces serotonin, a natural happy hormone that our body produces when we go upside down.
7. They look awesome:)
8. They help maintain balance. If you've ever tried a handstand, you know that besides needing to be strong to do them, you'll also need to have substantial balancing skills as well in order to be able to hold yourself up. Freestanding handstands, especially, require you to be able to have full control over your muscles and to constantly make small adjustments to avoid falling. Practicing freestanding handstands or doing handstands against a wall and trying to take your feet off the wall for as long as possible will help increase your balancing abilities like no other exercise can.
9. They help build core strength. There's no need to spend hours focusing just on your abs — you can have fun doing handstands and build core strength as well.
Since staying upside down forces you to stabilize your muscles, you're constantly working your abs, as well as other key muscle groups such as your hip flexors, hamstrings, inner thigh muscles, obliques and lower back while in a handstand. Training handstands every day will get you a well balanced, super strong core.
10. They help you to focus on the breath and be in the present moment.
11. They help improve the circulatory system. Not only that, the upside-down nature of a handstand can increase circulation to your upper body, while relieving pressure on your feet and legs and stretching your diaphragm at the same time, which in turn can increase blood flow to your lungs. Inversions reverse the blood flow in the body and improve circulation:
Work smarter, not harder! Use gravity to provide the brain with more oxygen and blood thus increasing mental functioning, and improving concentration, memory, and processing abilities.- See more at: http://yoganonymous.com/10-benefits-of-yoga-inversions/#sthash.q63kXuYB.dpuf
12. Since handstands are technically a weight-bearing exercise, they can help strengthen your bones, making you less prone to osteoporosis. Handstands are also beneficial for your spine, and help aid bone health in your shoulders, arms and wrists.