inverted

There is something very invigorating about going upside down. It was one of my personal triumphs, some years ago, when I finally managed to kick up into a handstand. Even so, for years I relied on belting my arms to help me push my arms straight. This year I weened myself from the belt and try to do a handstand every day. Not just inverted, but the back bend you achieve in the handstand really energize. I found that post Pilates, when we do a lot of deep forward bends at the end of the session, it has a depressive effect. I learned from yoga that forward bends cause you to go inward and quiet you, while back bends cause you to go outside and energize you. So post Pilates I go against the wall and kick up into a handstand. I was struggling recently post workouts to get up and realized that doing handstands on the soft mat makes it much harder, as my palms sink below the arch of my hand. On the hard or carpeted floor, voila, right up. My break through in being able to get into a handstand came after a weekend workshop with Francoise Raul, who made the comment that elephants can do handstands and they are not strong enough to lift their bodies with their "hands". It is a matter of stacking yourself up and bearing your weight on your skeleton, not muscling your way up. The final extension, when I lift out of my shoulders to straighten my arms does require strength, but getting up into the position is just a matter of balance. I drop my head as I kick up and my body goes straight over my arms. A handstand a day keeps the doctor at bay. Handstands and pushups seem to be my weight lifting regimen these days. I heard that pushups are nearly the perfect exercise-- cardiovascular and upperbody, core and lower back all in one and they are easy to fit in, any where, any time in any clothes. As we drive cross country I do pushups at every rest area. Handstands though make all my change fall out of my pockets.