“A little progress each day adds up to big results.” –Satya Nani
Today Julie and I played around after the 9:00 am class. I had her get some footage of me on my phone and give me pointers. Watching myself on the video is helpful. I could see that as I leaned away from the wall, I was reaching my leg too far forward rather than up, so even when I had that moment of balance, my reaching pulled me out of the handstand.
It’s funny about handstands because you’d think that once you’ve done it (which I have ever so briefly), you’d automatically kick up correctly every time. But that’s not how it works. For one thing, you get really tired after doing it for so long, so even if you do get it ever so briefly, you can’t keep doing it over and over again due to fatigue. And it’s the doing it over and over again that lets you know you’ve nailed it. At least I’m not so scared to try it away from the wall now. I did it several times (unsuccessfully) in the middle of the room yesterday so that in itself is progress.
The other thing I really marveled at yesterday was how much you have to “think” to work on handstand (or any challenge). I talk to myself saying, “Press your hands down. Shift your gaze forward. Knit in your ribs. Reach. Reach. Reach.” Every time I do it, I’m saying those things in my head — and sometimes out loud. That’s one of the great things about these type of challenges — we think they’re physical, but they’re actually more mental. You have to convince yourself mentally that you can attempt the challenge in the first place. No self doubting allowed.
