Leah Bateman
Creative endeavor
A handstand is an act of holding the body upside down balancing on the hands. The body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended.
Leah is a junior at the University of South Alabama with an entrepreneurship major planning to graduate in May 2020. While ambitious to see what the future holds she believes taking 10 minutes a day to practice a handstand can change her life.
4 Reasons You Should Do A Hand Stand Everyday
Strength
Since staying upside down forces you to stabilize your muscles, you're constantly working your shoulders, arms, wrists, abs, hip flexors, hamstrings, inner thigh muscles, obliques and lower back.
So a couple handstands every day will get you a well balanced, super strong everything.
Balance
Freestanding handstands require you to have full control over your muscles and to constantly make small adjustments to avoid falling.
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Practicing handstands freely or against a wall and trying to take your feet off the wall for as long as possible will help gain your balancing abilities like no other exercise can.
Breathing, Circulation, Bone health
Being upside-down increases circulation to your upper body, while relieving pressure on your feet and legs & stretching your diaphragm at the same time, which in turn can increase blood flow to your lungs.
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Also beneficial for your spine, and help aid bone health in your shoulders, arms and wrists.
Mood boost
Handstands just make ya feel happier! Blood flow to your brain has an energizing and calming effect, especially when you're feeling stressed, anxious or worried.
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Another way handstands can help your mood is by reducing the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, which can not only de-stress you in the short-term but could also help relieve minor depression and anxiety.
