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A New Perspective On Handstands

I continue to practice (read as "struggle") with headstands in yoga, but a new instructor last Thursday had a headstand philosophy that made me re-evaluate my approach to the pose.

Rather than telling us that headstands were advanced-beginner like my other instructor, she said that our bodies come to headstand when the come to headstand and even if we know how to do them that doesn't mean we can or should do them each time. This made me feel better about my inability to gracefully float me heels over my head.

She also made me realize that each new attempt is a solitary event or a fresh start. Until now, I brought all the baggage of my previous "failures" to each attempt. I would focus on correcting what I did wrong the last time I tried headstand, and as a result I psyched myself out and didn't let myself experience where my body was at during the current attempt.

I still didn't complete a headstand successfully, but I didn't feel bad about it this time. Instead, I felt like I made progress, and took comfort in knowing if and when my body is ready I will be able to stand on my head.