The name Adho Mukha Vrksasana means upside down tree...
When you think of a tree upside down, on its branches, what comes to mind? Delicate balance? In the wrong set up, it crumbles.
Handstand is kind of like that. But even though our bodies didn’t evolve to take our full weight onto our hands, completely inverted, we're capable of doing it. We are forever challenging our biology, training it to do what we want to effect a change in how we feel or move about life.
What does handstand do for us?
Getting up requires a push of intense strength or the right amount of freedom and momentum. It's a highly active inversion - it builds strength throughout the body while reversing the body's relationship to gravity, and as such it invigorates.
Once up, staying up requires focus and trust. Playing on the edge of balance challenges our capacity to be calm in the face of uncertainty.
How do we trust ourselves? By knowing truth in the present moment. How do we stay in the present moment? One way is sa hum. A mantra, a mind tool, that echoes the breath and keeps us connected to our strength. Breath goes in, energy moves in. Breath goes out, energy distributes throughout the body, as you keep what you cultivate and put it to use.
In my classes, all this week. See you there!