Attempt to do a headstand against a wall.

“When everyone was hanging out in another room, I went to the main room for the retreat center alone to try my very first headstand up against a wall. I remember being so so so scared! But also, so excited when I was able to hold it for a couple of seconds! I couldn’t believe it!”

“I chose a mat near a wall for reassurance. The studio was busier than I’d have liked, with mats placed close together, but when the moment came, I took a deep breath and focused on the cues I’d been drilling over the past few days. Once I’d found that sweet spot (fingertips in sight, head stable), I slowly lifted my legs into position. I didn’t stay up long and made sure to rest in child’s pose afterwards to counter the inversion, but it was my first public headstand, and nothing major went wrong, which was a huge win in my mind.”

“Headstand and I battled for a really long time. I spent my entire teacher training day of inversions sitting and hoping people weren’t noticing I was crying. This fear kept me against a wall, unengaged and totally lost for a while. [...] So I looked at it, and it started coming little by little as I worked against the wall, but I soon realized that working against the wall is the least helpful thing for me because when I’m against the wall, I cheat. I can’t not cheat against the wall.”