My road to a healthy addiction

I spent most of my childhood/adolescence upside down in some way or another and have done 10 million handstands.

I had been a competitive gymnast/tumbler since I was nine years old, was on the National Power Tumbling team and competed as an elite level power tumbler on rod floor.

So, I am extremely comfortable being upside down.

When it came to handstands; however, I had always walked on my hands to maintain balance and had never been able to hold a position for more than about three seconds without walking my hands.

Shortly after moving to Oak Island (nearly nine years ago now!) I decided I wanted to challenge myself to be able to hold a handstand with zero hand movement.

I took this image on April 8,2017 and posted it on my social media.

It looked like a solid start, but I was very much using that wall for balance and just popped away long enough to get this picture.

I wanted to be able to find balance without a wall, and I wanted to be able to stay there until my face couldn’t get any redder due to all the blood flowing to it!

I started using sections of my gym time to practice. 

That meant I was getting a little bit of time upside down at least three days a week and building a consistent practice.

I found the account of someone who was doing the handstands I dreamed of doing and started following her and putting her tips and tricks into practice.

Here’s her YouTube in case you’re curious. 

https://youtu.be/Q4rE4oEK9GY?si=yiNTuVecT74i3si0

A little over two weeks later, I was so proud of myself for reaching my first 10 second inversion holds.

I used a hashtag on my social posts that I still use occasionally, #handstandeverywhere.

Why? Because I did handstands in the hardware store; in museums; on the seashore; at rest stops while traveling; in my living room, in my driveway, at the gym… I was hooked!

Since it was going to take time to build up to longer holds and holding a perfectly still handstand is a bit more tedious than one where you are creating shapes; I started playng with new shapes and leg positions.

Over the years, I have increased the time I can hold my handstands to over a minute and have a couple flows and shapes that I gravitate towards especially when I want a dramatic picture.

But, the main reason I still handstand is that it is a sort of meditative practice.  Between the breathing and stillness while handstanding,  I find that spending some time upside down can help me adjust my mood.

If you are interested in joining me in this addiction (since I won’t be looking for a recovery group), don’t hesitate to reach out!