The Upside Down World

I see many of my classmates (including myself!) started to cringe when the Inversion asana (Headstand- Sirsasana, specifically) was being introduced in the first or second lesson of our Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) course. This is understandable, going upside down can be really scary for a lot of people.

Fear and doubt kicks in and I was left defeated, couldn’t even get both my feet off the ground after countless attempts to get into a headstand. I suddenly see light at the end of the tunnel when I was being assisted up to a headstand for the very first time by Master Paalu. Although it was only a mere 5 seconds assisted headstand, the adrenaline rush ( I would like to call it “Cheap Thrill”) i felt, pushes me to wanna do more. This is where my daily headstand practice started. 

The first week of daily headstand practice was frustrating and tedious. I allowed fear and doubt to get the better of me and I couldn’t get to where I wanted. Miracle started to happen on the second week when I started practicing daily Pranayama techniques which we were taught in class. I started to be able to put down my ego, having faith and trust on my own body and able to implement the techniques taught to get into a headstand. Once again, I experienced the cheap thrill having both feet up and off the ground but not with the right form. There were still moments when I felt stuck with my practice and progress and I turned to Social Media (Instagram) to seek inspiration and help. 

Today, I am enjoying the upside down world with ease and relaxation. I’m living in the moment when I’m upside down, nothing matters more than my breath and my mental vision has never been clearer. 

Namaste.

 

Jeslin (March 2018 Weekend YTT)