Carmen Aguilar - cyogalife, New York, NY (2025)

11/21/2025

Day 21 of : Wrist taps at wall
Today’s assignment is all about floating those toes and, ideally, tap wrists & hover. For those practicing with me, play class 💻 #344:”Wrist taps”, which couldn’t be more perfect and it’ll break down the different stages, give you plenty of ideas to incorporate, and come out feeling stronger💪🏻. Let’s take a look:
✋🏻 a good intro to this move is to do it with your butt on the wall, scoot as close as you can, come up on tip toes, plant hands REALLY close to that back wall & alternate tapping wrists;
✋🏻 do that x10 and, if it works, try both at the same time. Keep pressing hamstrings into wall, hollow belly, look down & keep arms very straight;
✋🏻 some people find it easier to push & float if they use blocks under hands. Try and see if that works for you as well;
✋🏻 one fun thing to try is to widen/shorten leg distance (abduct/adduct), sliding them along the wall. This is harder than hold the wrist tap steadily so, get ready😅!;
✋🏻 if you do this move in the middle of the room, keep upper body solid, hinge at the flexors, and move side-to-side like a pendulum;
✋🏻 a not-so-flashy-but-very-effective drill to do, is to hold your wrist taps until exhaustion. This may not be as ‘fun’ but it’ll increase endurance & strength like few other drills will. Aim to hold anything between 10-30 secs and do x2-3 tries. I usually do this at the end of my and I’m done right after🔥🔥🔥… let me know how it goes!

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #344:”Wrist taps”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/20/2025

Day 21 of : Wrist taps at wall
Today’s assignment is all about floating those toes and, ideally, tap wrists & hover. For those practicing with me, play class 💻 #344:”Wrist taps”, which couldn’t be more perfect and it’ll break down the different stages, give you plenty of ideas to incorporate, and come out feeling stronger💪🏻. Let’s take a look:
✋🏻 a good intro to this move is to do it with your butt on the wall, scoot as close as you can, come up on tip toes, plant hands REALLY close to that back wall & alternate tapping wrists;
✋🏻 do that x10 and, if it works, try both at the same time. Keep pressing hamstrings into wall, hollow belly, look down & keep arms very straight;
✋🏻 some people find it easier to push & float if they use blocks under hands. Try and see if that works for you as well;
✋🏻 one fun thing to try is to widen/shorten leg distance (abduct/adduct), sliding them along the wall. This is harder than hold the wrist tap steadily so, get ready😅!;
✋🏻 if you do this move in the middle of the room, keep upper body solid, hinge at the flexors, and move side-to-side like a pendulum;
✋🏻 a not-so-flashy-but-very-effective drill to do, is to hold your wrist taps until exhaustion. This may not be as ‘fun’ but it’ll increase endurance & strength like few other drills will. Aim to hold anything between 10-30 secs and do x2-3 tries. I usually do this at the end of my and I’m done right after🔥🔥🔥… let me know how it goes!

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #344:”Wrist taps”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/20/2025

Day 20 of : Small Mexican Handstand
Today’s assignment is about getting off the wall using the shoulders and NOT the legs to kick off it. For those practicing with me, play class 💻 #185:”Backbends: Wheel walks” which will open your shoulders into a deeper flexion and explore their range so that drills like this become not only doable but easy🙌🏻. Let’s take a look:
💡kick against the wall, rest toes on it, then take 1 foot at a time off and, using the shoulders, peel other one and find some floating time;
💡most people try to ‘push off’ the wall with their legs, instead of opening shoulders further (and slowly!). In the middle of the room you’re not going to have a wall, so you need to start wiring your nervous system to “solve” the problems with your shoulders. That is a big change and, if you always rely on the wall to hold you, it’ll be tricky to do the mental adjustment;
💡getting toes off the wall with the shoulders requires a slower speed, and more accuracy in your position (more muscle memory);
💡it’s not just the shoulders opening into a deeper flexion, your abs & ribs need to close to avoid lumbar arch and control legs & torso;
💡if you physically CAN’T lift toes AT ALL from the wall, chances are you’re too far from it. Come down and kick from a much closer position;
💡the margin of error is pretty small, that’s why you may alternate between falling on the wall (because you didn’t flex shoulders enough) or crashing on your feet (shoulders went too far or you didn’t lock the position with your abs). It’s frustrating but also, working on this drill will exponentially improve your control in Hstands. If you do this consistently you’ll get much better at it, but yes, it takes time, and probably many falls…

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #185:”Backbends: Wheel walks”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/19/2025

Day 20 of : Small Mexican Handstand
Today’s assignment is about getting off the wall using the shoulders and NOT the legs to kick off it. For those practicing with me, play class 💻 #185:”Backbends: Wheel walks” which will open your shoulders into a deeper flexion and explore their range so that drills like this become not only doable but easy🙌🏻. Let’s take a look:
💡kick against the wall, rest toes on it, then take 1 foot at a time off and, using the shoulders, peel other one and find some floating time;
💡most people try to ‘push off’ the wall with their legs, instead of opening shoulders further (and slowly!). In the middle of the room you’re not going to have a wall, so you need to start wiring your nervous system to “solve” the problems with your shoulders. That is a big change and, if you always rely on the wall to hold you, it’ll be tricky to do the mental adjustment;
💡getting toes off the wall with the shoulders requires a slower speed, and more accuracy in your position (more muscle memory);
💡it’s not just the shoulders opening into a deeper flexion, your abs & ribs need to close to avoid lumbar arch and control legs & torso;
💡if you physically CAN’T lift toes AT ALL from the wall, chances are you’re too far from it. Come down and kick from a much closer position;
💡the margin of error is pretty small, that’s why you may alternate between falling on the wall (because you didn’t flex shoulders enough) or crashing on your feet (shoulders went too far or you didn’t lock the position with your abs). It’s frustrating but also, working on this drill will exponentially improve your control in Hstands. If you do this consistently you’ll get much better at it, but yes, it takes time, and probably many falls…

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #185:”Backbends: Wheel walks”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/19/2025

Day 19 of : Dropped Lotus in Tripod Headstand variant
Today’s variant is all about compression, biceps & balance. For those practicing with my library, head to class 💻 #331:”Lotuses & core” which covers this in depth as well as other inversions, lots of abs and how to maximize hip ER without sacrificing integrity.
Let’s take a look:�🥨 make a wide and ‘flat’ triangle between your head & palms. If you’re not sure, this very close to a wall (back almost touching it), to have a first taste;
🥨 if Lotus doesn’t happen, go into Half or a Figure 4, tuck legs to chest, round upper spine, hollow belly, pull navel in as you exhale and drop knees as close to triceps as you can;
🥨 wherever you get, make sure you CAN return back up so, don’t lower pass a point of no return. It may boost your ego to go that ‘low’ but, as far as learning control in your end range, you’ll get nothing;
🥨 one thing that mentally helps me is to NOT relax body once I rest my knees onto triceps. The moment you disengage, it’ll be almost impossible to lift back up. It’s a mental exercise, as much as it as physical one👌🏻;
🥨 as you round the spine to approach kneecaps to arms, first you’ll have to do a strong compression at the flexors but, at some point, the t-spine will have to flex, more and more, higher and higher, until knees will land. The last inch is the toughest one…;
🥨 biceps are working to their max capacity, not only to avoid legs plummeting, but to maintain balance at all moments. Make sure you stretch them afterwards;
🥨 also, avoid rolling on your head in order to touch down. Touching down is not the goal, doing the movement with max compression, rounding, control & ease is… your turn👍🏻.

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #331:”Lotuses & core”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/18/2025

Day 19 of : Dropped Lotus in Tripod Headstand variant
Today’s variant is all about compression, biceps & balance. For those practicing with my library, head to class 💻 #331:”Lotuses & core” which covers this in depth as well as other inversions, lots of abs and how to maximize hip ER without sacrificing integrity.
Let’s take a look:
🥨 make a wide and ‘flat’ triangle between your head & palms. If you’re not sure, this very close to a wall (back almost touching it), to have a first taste;
🥨 if Lotus doesn’t happen, go into Half or a Figure 4, tuck legs to chest, round upper spine, hollow belly, pull navel in as you exhale and drop knees as close to triceps as you can;
🥨 wherever you get, make sure you CAN return back up so, don’t lower pass a point of no return. It may boost your ego to go that ‘low’ but, as far as learning control in your end range, you’ll get nothing;
🥨 one thing that mentally helps me is to NOT relax body once I rest my knees onto triceps. The moment you disengage, it’ll be almost impossible to lift back up. It’s a mental exercise, as much as it as physical one👌🏻;
🥨 as you round the spine to approach kneecaps to arms, first you’ll have to do a strong compression at the flexors but, at some point, the t-spine will have to flex, more and more, higher and higher, until knees will land. The last inch is the toughest one…;
🥨 biceps are working to their max capacity, not only to avoid legs plummeting, but to maintain balance at all moments. Make sure you stretch them afterwards;
🥨 also, avoid rolling on your head in order to touch down. Touching down is not the goal, doing the movement with max compression, rounding, control & ease is… your turn👍🏻.

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #331:”Lotuses & core”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/18/2025

Day 18 of : Down Dog on chair
Today’s assignment is about bringing hips over shoulders, without letting those move forward. For those practicing with my library, click on class 💻 #368:”Stillness in inversions”, which covers this in depth, as well as other static positions, drills & visualizations, to stay as still as possible upside down… a must-do class👌🏻! Let’s take a look:
🧱 a simple first task today is to elevate feet, plant hands down & move shoulders slightly forward/backwards. Notice how the difference between those angles, carries onto the rest of the body (forward = heavier, elbows bent; backwards = lighter, taller, arms straighter);
🧱 when ready, lift one leg at a time & tuck heel to butt. Make sure you do that without moving shoulders forward. Hold 10-20 secs & alternate legs a few times;
🧱if you’re ready, lift one after the next, trying to find balance in your tucked position (feel free to do this facing a wall). As hips go up & over, make sure shoulders DON’T follow them!;
🧱 Hstand is about opposing forces so, at all times, hips want to go slightly more ‘over’ while shoulders ‘open’ into a more flexed position…if you’re facing the wall, hips would have the intention of going towards it, while shoulders would move away from it (it’s all very subtle);
🧱 for those balancing in the middle of the room, try to tuck-press one leg after the other. Find your tucked Hstand, hold as steadily as you can for 1-2 min OR extend them into a 7;
🧱most people, either jump too much, taking the shoulders with them, or too little, hence the hips can never reach the vertical line. It’s interesting that, in both those cases, the arms will bend, trying to ‘catch’ the balance. That means that, if you chronically bend your elbows when you jump, it’s because you’re never jumping to the right spot… time to get upside down🙃!

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #368:”Stillness in inversions”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🤸🏻!

11/18/2025

Day 18 of : Down Dog on chair
Today’s assignment is about bringing hips over shoulders, without letting those move forward. For those practicing with my library, click on class 💻 #368:”Stillness in inversions”, which covers this in depth, as well as other static positions, drills & visualizations, to stay as still as possible upside down… a must-do class👌🏻! Let’s take a look:
🧱 a simple first task today is to elevate feet, plant hands down & move shoulders slightly forward/backwards. Notice how the difference between those angles, carries onto the rest of the body (forward = heavier, elbows bent; backwards = lighter, taller, arms straighter);
🧱 when ready, lift one leg at a time & tuck heel to butt. Make sure you do that without moving shoulders forward. Hold 10-20 secs & alternate legs a few times;
🧱if you’re ready, lift one after the next, trying to find balance in your tucked position (feel free to do this facing a wall). As hips go up & over, make sure shoulders DON’T follow them!;
🧱 Hstand is about opposing forces so, at all times, hips want to go slightly more ‘over’ while shoulders ‘open’ into a more flexed position…if you’re facing the wall, hips would have the intention of going towards it, while shoulders would move away from it (it’s all very subtle);
🧱 for those balancing in the middle of the room, try to tuck-press one leg after the other. Find your tucked Hstand, hold as steadily as you can for 1-2 min OR extend them into a 7;
🧱most people, either jump too much, taking the shoulders with them, or too little, hence the hips can never reach the vertical line. It’s interesting that, in both those cases, the arms will bend, trying to ‘catch’ the balance. That means that, if you chronically bend your elbows when you jump, it’s because you’re never jumping to the right spot… time to get upside down🙃!

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #368:”Stillness in inversions”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🤸🏻!

11/17/2025

Day 17 of : Handstand 1 hand on block
Today’s assignment is about balancing with a block under 1 arm and make your foundation as solid as possible. For those practicing with my library, head to class 💻 #162 :”7 new hand placement in Hstand” which explores blocks’ uses to help strengthen shoulders & fingers, as well as different variants depending on what you want to work on most… this one you can play it on repeat as it keeps on giving🙃💥! Let’s focus on the task at hand:
✋🏻 put a block under 1 of your hands & jump up into you most solid Handstand. If you need a wall, kick against it and find your tucked position, toes slightly touching it;
✋🏻 before peeling toes off, notice the weight distribution on the upper body. The block forces us to lean more into the other arm so, pay attention to keep pushing through it at all times;
✋🏻 play carefully with different shapes like opening legs into straddle and, once more, notice the different sensations that brings into your upper body;
✋🏻for those doing this in the middle of the room, you can try to Puppy press into it (tougher than the regular one), then hold the most stable shape or try to move your legs a bit;
✋🏻in a regular Hstand, the weight is 50-50 on your arms. In this case, depending on how much you lean on the block, it’ll be more like 60-40;
✋🏻 the more you shift onto your base shoulder, the harder it gets for it but also the tougher to control the balance as you’ll need to lock the position MUCH more. In other words, holding this at 80-20 ratio is considerably harder than 60-40 so, play with it and adapt as needed🙌🏻;
✋🏻if you’re novice to this kind of position, aim for 30secs to 1min on each side and take breaks if you need to! Eventually, you won’t have to💪🏻.

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #162:”7 new hand placement in Hstand”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/16/2025

Day 17 of : Handstand 1 hand on block
Today’s assignment is about balancing with a block under 1 arm and make your foundation as solid as possible. For those practicing with my library, head to class 💻 #162 :”7 new hand placement in Hstand” which explores blocks’ uses to help strengthen shoulders & fingers, as well as different variants depending on what you want to work on most… this one you can play it on repeat as it keeps on giving🙃💥! Let’s focus on the task at hand:
✋🏻 put a block under 1 of your hands & jump up into you most solid Handstand. If you need a wall, kick against it and find your tucked position, toes slightly touching it;
✋🏻 before peeling toes off, notice the weight distribution on the upper body. The block forces us to lean more into the other arm so, pay attention to keep pushing through it at all times;
✋🏻 play carefully with different shapes like opening legs into straddle and, once more, notice the different sensations that brings into your upper body;
✋🏻for those doing this in the middle of the room, you can try to Puppy press into it (tougher than the regular one), then hold the most stable shape or try to move your legs a bit;
✋🏻in a regular Hstand, the weight is 50-50 on your arms. In this case, depending on how much you lean on the block, it’ll be more like 60-40;
✋🏻 the more you shift onto your base shoulder, the harder it gets for it but also the tougher to control the balance as you’ll need to lock the position MUCH more. In other words, holding this at 80-20 ratio is considerably harder than 60-40 so, play with it and adapt as needed🙌🏻;
✋🏻if you’re novice to this kind of position, aim for 30secs to 1min on each side and take breaks if you need to! Eventually, you won’t have to💪🏻.

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #162:”7 new hand placement in Hstand”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/16/2025

Day 16 of : Handstand kicking ourselves
Today’s drill is about being able to control extra movement at will. For those practicing with me, head to class 💻 #95:”Lightness & alignment in Hstand & Pincha”, which covers these kinds of ‘controlled disruptions’ both on the forearms and hands. Task for today:
🤸🏻if balancing in Hstand is a problem, kick against a wall & alternate lifting 1 leg at a time off it. Try not to fall right back into the wall and find a few moments of bliss & balance;
🤸🏻 it’s not about speed but about controlling any extra movement with your hands (though, if you’re good at it, you can speed things up, to make it more challenging💥);
🤸🏻for those balancing in the middle of the room, go into a straight Hstand & try to kick yourself in the butt alternating legs. Do 2-3 sets of 10;
🤸🏻avoid sending shoulders forward nor allow your trunk or hips to move. make the kick happen from the knee so, ideally, nothing else above it should move;
🤸🏻you can also do both legs at the same time. Do 2-3 sets of 10 as well. The better you get at this, the harder you can ‘kick yourself’ and allow the leg to be a bigger disturbance;
🤸🏻consider each kick a small test to see if you’re still aligned and, if you’re slightly off, you need to be fast enough to make small readjustments without falling;
🤸🏻for those very wobbly in the middle of the room, spend the first 10-20 secs stopping ALL movement completely, then, and only when you’ve managed to substantially end that initially move, start the kicks. Be patient, this can get pretty frustrating but, like everything else in Handstands, you need to give your body and nervous system enough repetitions to polish this skill… your turn to go upside down🙃!

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #95:”Lightness & alignment in Hstand & Pincha”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

11/15/2025

Day 16 of : Handstand kicking ourselves
Today’s drill is about being able to control extra movement at will. For those practicing with me, head to class 💻 #95:”Lightness & alignment in Hstand & Pincha”, which covers these kinds of ‘controlled disruptions’ both on the forearms and hands. Task for today:
🤸🏻if balancing in Hstand is a problem, kick against a wall & alternate lifting 1 leg at a time off it. Try not to fall right back into the wall and find a few moments of bliss & balance;
🤸🏻 it’s not about speed but about controlling any extra movement with your hands (though, if you’re good at it, you can speed things up, to make it more challenging💥);
🤸🏻for those balancing in the middle of the room, go into a straight Hstand & try to kick yourself in the butt alternating legs. Do 2-3 sets of 10;
🤸🏻avoid sending shoulders forward nor allow your trunk or hips to move. make the kick happen from the knee so, ideally, nothing else above it should move;
🤸🏻you can also do both legs at the same time. Do 2-3 sets of 10 as well. The better you get at this, the harder you can ‘kick yourself’ and allow the leg to be a bigger disturbance;
🤸🏻consider each kick a small test to see if you’re still aligned and, if you’re slightly off, you need to be fast enough to make small readjustments without falling;
🤸🏻for those very wobbly in the middle of the room, spend the first 10-20 secs stopping ALL movement completely, then, and only when you’ve managed to substantially end that initially move, start the kicks. Be patient, this can get pretty frustrating but, like everything else in Handstands, you need to give your body and nervous system enough repetitions to polish this skill… your turn to go upside down🙃!

🔓 Find today’s pose and more in class 💻 #95:”Lightness & alignment in Hstand & Pincha”
🏠 Practice with me from home, anytime, anywhere: cyogalife.com and take flight🙃🤸🏻!

Carmen Aguilar - cyogalife

11/21/2025

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