Upside Down

I just did my first inversion! First handstand! Against a wall in the office, of course, and I climbed up into it rather than kicking upward to get there, but still.

I did the backing up and walking up the wall thing, seen here. It felt pretty amazing. I loved the strength of my arms and the way my body felt. My body was shocked! What are we doing here? Are we really upside down? Should we be here? Is this dangerous? Or is it fun? I can’t decide! 

I read someplace that the easiest thing to forget to do while inverted is breathe, and I found that instantly true. I was holding my breath, and when I eventually did breathe, I could feel my lungs startlingly higher in my chest than they usually are.

I felt strong, and I know my shoulders and pecs are strong from yoga, but I think the next step is to walk my hands while in that position closer to the door, which seemed completely impossible to even imagine. Now I understand why they say to save some strength to get back out of it. I could just unfold myself down today because my hands were still at least three feet away from the door, but had I been closer, I couldn’t have done that.

I’m going to try one inversion a day for a year, but it’s unofficial. Maybe I’ll record some, maybe I want. It’s just something I want to do. 2018: Year of Being Upside Down. The view is different. Okay, the view is just of my office door. You know what I mean.

But my vision felt fresh when I stood back up, and I have a happy gratitude for this body I’m living in.