Photography by Emily A Bay | Bianca wears Country Road Active Wear | Location Clovelly Beach
Yoga – we all want to be amazing at it and we all want to get the perfect Instagram selfie of ourselves doing it. (Ideally in a pose or place no one else has shot yet). So why not try the standing splits? It’s a super strong pose and, might I say, quite a difficult one to hold if you’re not too familiar.
The standing splits outdoors are no easy feat, let alone trying to do it on a yoga mat (which is a better place to start, if you can). Getting into this pose is actually all about balance, time and dedication. With the assistance of my simple steps (and with plenty of practice), you can achieve this, just as I have! It’s all about challenging your balance and stretching your hips and hamstrings.
Of course, with a lot of practice comes perfect, so before attempting to head into this, I suggest 30 minutes of warming up in sun salutes, then mixing into your practice lots of lizard lunges, mermaids, pigeons and forward folds for flexibility and for balance warrior threes, the dancer’s pose and half moons. Once you feel warmed up enough, then head into your peak pose, the standing splits.
Bianca Cheah’s steps for doing standing splits:
- From downward dog, inhale.
- Exhale glide your right foot forward in-between your hands.
- Inhale, hold your right ankle with your right hand and leave your left hand by your right foot and lift your left leg to the sky.
- Exhale, focus and hold for a few breaths.
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