#100DoPP d42: My yoga teacher asked me to help her demonstrate headstand this morning. After stacking my shoulders, back, and hips, I was able to slowly raise my legs, knees bent at about 90 degrees. She guided my back & legs as I straightened them up. After a bit of effort keeping up with her guidance & instructions for what to firm, pull back/forward, she slowly pulled her hands away, and I felt the most balanced upside down that I ever have. Everything felt like it was just holding itself up, no swaying back/forth of the legs, no oscillating back & core contractions to stay upright. I held it for several more breaths before gently lowering my legs, having never touched the wall a few inches behind me. I practiced a couple more times, from that stacked upperbody position with toes on the ground, focusing on my core to lift my straightened legs off the ground, to the horizontal. Just getting to this point of strength & stability took me over a year and a half of practice from when I was first able to hold a headstand. Piking up to headstand now feels in reach of something I can incrementally practice, improve, and eventually lift up to with strength & control. This was my last yoga class before my YTT starts tomorrow night, in another studio, with different teachers. I feel physically ready to begin my training. Previously, previously: * tantek.com/2015/362/t1/yoga-flexible-headstand * tantek.com/2015/181/t3/emotionally-intense-yoga-first-headstand

#100DoPP d42:
My yoga teacher asked me to help her demonstrate headstand this morning.

After stacking my shoulders, back, and hips, I was able to slowly raise my legs, knees bent at about 90 degrees. She guided my back & legs as I straightened them up. After a bit of effort keeping up with her guidance & instructions for what to firm, pull back/forward, she slowly pulled her hands away, and I felt the most balanced upside down that I ever have.

Everything felt like it was just holding itself up, no swaying back/forth of the legs, no oscillating back & core contractions to stay upright. I held it for several more breaths before gently lowering my legs, having never touched the wall a few inches behind me.

I practiced a couple more times, from that stacked upperbody position with toes on the ground, focusing on my core to lift my straightened legs off the ground, to the horizontal. Just getting to this point of strength & stability took me over a year and a half of practice from when I was first able to hold a headstand.

Piking up to headstand now feels in reach of something I can incrementally practice, improve, and eventually lift up to with strength & control.

This was my last yoga class before my YTT starts tomorrow night, in another studio, with different teachers.

I feel physically ready to begin my training.

Previously, previously:
* tantek.com/2015/362/t1/yoga-flexible-headstand
* tantek.com/2015/181/t3/emotionally-intense-yoga-first-headstand