I always thought that my inversions were terrible. They didn’t look nice. I could neither go up into them gracefully nor land without boring a hole into the ground. But then again arm balances and inversions are so much more than that just pretty aesthetics. I’ve recently found that it’s a place I can go to whenever I need to find some focus and peace in my life.
It’s so physically demanding, it takes almost everything the body has just to hold itself up that there’s no space for the mind to even think about anything else. No space at all for doubts and distractions. It’s a do or don’t thing.
My body awareness has definitely improved, even though I still have trouble “rotating hips inwards” because where the hell is “inwards” supposed to be when you’re upside down? Or how is it supposed to feel? When I finally got it, when I could finally balance in salambar sirsasana, though only for a split second or two, the only thing I remembered was feeling weightless. So I thought, the goal was basically to remain weightless for as long as I can. Suddenly things like, “pull your feet to the ceiling” and “press your arms into the mat” started to make sense. There is a heck ton of work going on from head to toe just to remain still and I never understood it until I actually got there.
What doesn’t make sense at first can seem very daunting, but that’s the point. The point it feeling the fear but doing it anyway. The point is falling but getting up again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.
Trying IS brave.
Anthea
