Root & Rise — A Handstand Journey is a movement practice developed by Carlo Alexandre from his long-term experience in Capoeira, bodywork, physiotherapy and movement education.

The method approaches the handstand not simply as a physical skill, but as a journey of listening, organisation, balance and self-knowledge. Drawing fundamentally from the principles, movement intelligence and embodied knowledge of Capoeira Angola and its Afro-Brazilian lineage, Root & Rise explores how we establish connection with the ground, develop strength and mobility, organise the body and find balance through movement.

The practice combines handstand training with calisthenics, mobility, functional movement, tensegrity, body awareness, breathing, touch and coordination. Calisthenics plays an important role in preparing and conditioning the body to rise, developing the strength, control and physical readiness needed for inversion. Capoeira’s dialogue between stability and movement, ground and verticality, intention and adaptation provides a deeper framework for exploring the handstand as a dynamic and embodied practice.

What makes Root & Rise distinctive is this cultural and movement lineage. It is not a generic handstand methodology adapted to Capoeira; it emerges from knowledge developed through Capoeira Angola and its Afro-Brazilian traditions, combined with Carlo’s extensive experience in physiotherapy, manual therapy and movement practice.

Each session offers tools that can be adapted to different bodies, abilities and levels of experience. The aim is not to force the body into a shape, but to develop the conditions for greater freedom, awareness, strength and confidence in movement.

Root & Rise is an invitation to explore the relationship between grounding and elevation — to root, rise and discover new possibilities in the body.