It takes 12 months of daily work for a child to learn to walk – all those neural connections! And we can do it again as an adult – handstands build vast numbers of new nerve connections. Just like the joy of a child taking his or her first few steps unaided, we can also savour the same sensation of joy!
As a naturally hypermobile (bendy) person, I had very little control over where my body was. When I first tried a handstand in a yoga class, I flipped right up no problem, but then I landed in a backbend (don’t try this at home!!) with a thump… over and over again. I was so terrible, a tangle of arms and legs on the mat, that the whole class stopped. When I started giggling, so did the whole class. And I rediscovered that same pure unadulterated joy I had as a small child walking for the first time.
Joy is pretty addictive, so I started practising them any time I could. I was so bad at the control / balance part that I became determined to crack it. And just like a baby learning to walk, it took about 12 months to really set in stone a predictable and stable hand balance.
In the process, I not only giggled with joy every time I fell, but I also felt a huge sense of empowerment every time I managed to balance. I learned how to intuitively ‘feel’ where every single cell in my body was. I had never really ‘got’ growing roots through my feet to ‘ground’ myself as instructed in many a yoga class. My feet are just not naturally grounded. But it turns out my hands are!
So what else do handstands do for us?
–  inverts your organs improving blood flow (oxygen and sugar) to the brain
–  aids restful sleep and regulates metabolism
–  strengthens your core and upper body and opens your shoulders
–  all the benefits of other inversions with no pressure on the neck!
–  grounds you – the hands have one of the largest neural connections in your body
–  discipline – it takes time and patience but the rewards are big
–  it’s FUN!
–  learning to fall properly prevents injury
In the storms of my life, if I can balance on my hands, then I feel powerful enough to be stable in an unstable world. I have an image in my mind of me standing tall and strong like an old wise oak tree as the ravages of a million stormy nights surround me.
Natalie Gartshore has been teaching yoga full time for over 10 years and has a personal Mysore ashtanga practice spanning 15 years. She has been happily hand balancing for the last 8 years. She sends love and gratitude to Guruji, Sharath Jois, Phillippa Asher, Eileen Gaultier and Hamish Hendry for the joy ashtanga has given her. She owes her perfectly straight handstands to Dutch acrobats Fons and Niko and the renowned gymnast and circus performer Sianna. For her ability to turn handstanding into a creative moving meditation. she gives thanks to Ed Clarke of Tripsichore.
Join Natalie in Camden…
heavenly handstanding
friday 21 october
book now
And in Soho…
heavenly handstanding
sunday 13 november
book now
