My younger daughter, Vivian, who has no history of gymnastics lessons, has decided to master an unsupported handstand. She’s already pretty great at doing it against the wall—something she watches me do in my home yoga practice sometimes—but this drive to handstand in free space is impressive.
A few times each day (including, to the chagrin of my stomach, immediately after dinner), she heads outside and practices. Saturday, I filmed her practice and asked her to narrate. The sound is poor, but the highlights are these:
“Hi, I’m Vivi, and I’m going to show you how to do a handstand. I might fall, but I’m OK.”
“Here’s the key. You have to sorta stay balanced and don’t, like, move your legs around. And you have to breathe in and out.”
“Don’t be afraid when you fall backward. Try to land on your back or on your feet. Those are the two best places you can land on. Don’t land on your head.”
As one of my running buddies pointed out, “I might fall, but I’m OK” is a fantastic mantra.
I’ve invited Vivi to come to class next week and guest teach kicking into handstand! I hope her persistence inspires you.