WHY ?
You probably don’t know it, but I am hyper-laxed. This means that I have excessive elasticity in certain tissues such as muscles or joints (tendons and ligaments). Basically, I am naturally very (very) flexible. This allows me to be funny during yoga classes, either by doing the wheel or the handstand.
As a child, I loved walking on my hands. I didn’t necessarily go very far, but the feeling was pleasant. It was also a great way to entertain the gallery!
So it was time to become more professional and try to control my handstand for a few seconds. 5 seconds seemed to me too easy to reach and 30 seconds too ambitious. I agreed with myself to aim for 20 seconds!
HOW ?
To be completely honest, I decided on this challenge one morning and started off without much information about the technique. I told myself that by spending 10/15min per day, it would be enough to go through the steps one by one. Beginner’s mistake…
I quickly found myself stuck, without making any progress for several days in a row. So I took the time to watch youtube videos like this one or that one. I warmly recommend the great program (click on the image below) of Christian Ralston, one of the Yoga teachers at Bondi Beach, who is the great specialist of the Handstand.
That’s when I realized the importance of the wrists. They serve as a motor to counterbalance the upper body. If we think about it, a bit like our ankles already do naturally when we stand.
I swallowed my pride and started training with the wall again. I went quickly to an average of 8/10 seconds after 2 weeks. But once this new level was reached, I could see that I needed a new push. It was thanks to the many comments I received on Instagram that I realized that the problem was in my legs. It’s important to gradually move up and stretch them once they’re vertical.
June 11, 2020, I pass the 15-second mark! That’s all it took to cheer me up. I have 4 days left in Sydney, before returning to Europe. I set myself the challenge to get there before taking the plane!
It’s finally “only” on June 28th, 2020 (and at my parents’ home), 16x15min spread over 74 days, that I succeeded in my bet: to hold 20 seconds in handstand without moving!
This new dream checked on my bucket list shows once again, that everything is possible. Your dream may seem impossible at time T (and it surely is), but with a bit of discipline and the good system, it should be possible. The most important thing is simply to progress 1% a little more every day.
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