Getting your arms long enough for Lolasana lift

In my Intro to Ashtanga class (Sundays at 4-5:45 at the Stone Creek Zen Center - check out the schedule on yogaingraton.com), we were discussing the problem of one's arms apparently not being long enough to lift off the ground. Of course the problem isn't arm length, it's hip and ab strength. One solution of course is blocks to lengthen the arms, but as Maria Villella shows in this clip, pulling the legs into the chest provides more than enough space for the arms. ... but of course developing the strength and length to do that takes work...