handstands and quest for inner balance

why i am so obsessed with handstands training

“My goal for this year is to hold 15-sec free-standing handstands,” I declared to myself while training in Bali’s (and perhaps the world’s) best calisthenics gym. Little did I know that aiming for a 15-second hold within a year would be an exceedingly ambitious (read: almost impossible) endeavor for a newcomer to the world of movement.

My handstands Instagram friends kindly endorsed the goal, without pointing out its impossibility. Perhaps naive newbie ignorance played its blissful game in helping me continue at first without being aware of the hardships to come. 

In the last eight months, I have been training regularly for this skill - once a week doing handstands class plus twice a week calisthenics-focused gym. I learned a lot during this time. This blog post is an outline of my three favorite reasons for my newly obtained obsession, and I often pitch this skill to my friends and colleagues.

First, handstands teach you self-discipline

Operant conditioning suggests that our behavioral tendencies are heavily influenced by the type and frequency of reward/feedback we receive. You do action, and then you get a reward/feedback - that reinforces and sustains your behavior (think of lotteries and casinos that hook people in).

Some sports have short reinforcement loops - you feel a reward of progress early in your training process. For example, as a skiing newbie, I ski-ed my first slope after about eight hours of practice. In contrast, reinforcement rewards in handstands are barely noticeable. I reached my first feel-able milestone (kicking my legs up independently) after five months of training. Months vs hours. 

Because of its long reinforcement loop, continuing handstands requires a significant amount of self-discipline and patience. By training handstands, I train my mindset to not give up. Similar to how we have transferable skills, I believe we have transferable mindsets - and I already noticed how persistence and consistency from handstands translate to similar vibes in my work.

Getting a reward that sustains your behavior (training) is a difference between months vs hours. Keep in mind that it all is my own experience.

Second, handstands give space to train inner self-talk

Your unique surroundings shape your perception of the world. At each place I trained, the environment was full of ex-acrobats, ex-dancers, handstands Instagram influencers, or just very strong people who were already way far ahead of me. 

In thirty handstand classes I attended, I objectively ranked the worst in 80% of them. And the gap is often significant - me being 2/10 and everyone else is 7+/10. (The gap lessened a bit when I moved from Bali’s extraordinary gym to San Francisco’s Circus Center, but it still remained noticeable). Often, I find myself as the only participant in the class doing different drills because I cannot yet hold a 1-minute chest-to-the-wall hold. It is difficult not to notice this gap and resist comparing myself to others. There were numerous instances where I felt disheartened about my progress (wink slow reinforcement cycles and no-movement background).

The people on the right are my friends and folks from my gym in Bali and my friends, including my roommate.

But knowing that “comparison is a thief of joy” (T.R.), I am actively choosing to see my studio as a training space for also intercepting my negative self-talk early on. I am learning how to transform my thoughts from detrimental to constructive. It has now become a captivating mental drill. 

Thinking thoughts

Third, a note on the handstand’s bouquet of physical benefits

The physical benefits of handstands are extensive. My teacher says, “Handstands are not like your gym machine that isolates one muscle at a time.” Handstands are isometric and engage the entire body (hi strength), open up your shoulders (hi mobility), and teach you balance (hi endurance). If your goal is handstand press, then you also say  “hi” to flexibility. Additionally, the inversion promotes cerebral blood flow, enhances body awareness, and stabilizes your spine.

Quite a bouquet of physical health benefits for just one skill, isn't it? 

Closing thoughts

• I am still a long way from reaching my 15sec free-standing goal but I am enjoying the process a lot!

• If you are in San Francisco, I recommend checking out Christopher’s classes at the Circus Center. Warning: he will complain if you try to digitize his paper homework sheets or if he sees you resting in the classroom (“the only place where you can rest is the bathroom”).

• Check out my progress:)