If you can hold Downward Dog for 10 breaths, I'm 99% certain that you have enough strength for Crow Pose.

So why won't your feet leave the ground?

So many of my students blame something physical - tight hamstrings, a weak core, weak shoulders. However, I think most people are strong and flexible enough for the arm balances that challenge them. I believe it's fear that's stopping them. And there's some research to back this idea up.

For example, research on rock climbers found that anxious climbers perceived routes as harder and experienced measurably higher muscle fatigue than fearless climbers. It's not because they lacked strength, but because their nervous system was operating in a fear state and their brain was telling them they couldn't do it.

Well, the same thing happens in arm balances. Your brain creates predictions about what you can and cannot do, then bases your performance on that prediction. When you believe you can't do the pose, your fight-or-flight response ramps up and changes your performance. So you might be able to hold Plank for 10 or even 30 seconds, but as soon as you fear falling on your face, all of a sudden your arms go weak, your muscles fatigue, and you give up and say you're not strong enough.

Here's proof it's not about strength: If you can hover in that 'almost there' of a pose for even 2-3 seconds, you're probably strong enough. Hovering actually requires more muscular effort than the full pose.

The solution to the fear issue is to train your nervous system the same way exposure therapy works for phobias. Take baby steps until your nervous system feels safe enough to go for it.

One technique that works well for my students is called 'Finger Brakes':

• In Tabletop position, lean forward until you press into your fingernails (they'll turn lighter)

• Rock back and forth into and out of your fingernail brakes

• Once comfortable, try it in Plank

• Then take it to Crow

This technique teaches your brain that your hands can catch you - they can stop you from face-planting. That one mindset shift goes further to getting you into arm balances way faster than any amount of core work will. You're welcome! ;)