We don’t like to sit with things. Sitting with things is Uncomfortable. Who wants to be uncomfortable? Not me. I do not like to sit with my worries about All the Things (I also do not like to sit with Mr Manspreader on the subway). My son Sebastian doesn’t like to sit with fractions. And you? I’m betting there are plenty of things you don’t like to sit with, but today we’re going to look at one particularly squirm-worthy moment: the move you can’t wrap yourself around… literally.

Sit Your A$$ Down

Not really, just go with it. You’ve just been introduced to a move that makes ZERO sense. Maybe it’s a nutty flamingo sequence that starts on one side and ends in Nebraska. Maybe you’re new and that inversion is hurting your brain. Maybe it’s something you’ve been revisiting periodically for months and HOW does it not make sense yet????!!!!!!!

Friend, I HEAR THAT. I do. How do I know all the parts of a perfect handstand, but I still banana the crap out of every attempt? How can you recite every element of a textbook inversion, but still not be able to haul your butt over your head? How can Laverne write a thesis on the theory behind a Sparkle Twirly Hip Circle Drop, but still crumple every time they get to step 4? Because some things just take time to set up residence in our bodies, and like St Celine says, “that’s the way it is”.

(“When you want it the most, there’s no easy way out; when you’re ready to go and your heart’s left in doubt, don’t give up on your faith…” Come on people, it’s practically perfect, just replace “love” with “circus”. 😉

Learn from the Inside Out

When a move or a skill is new, it’s new. You’ve never done it before! Sometimes, the very best thing you can do is just try it a dozen times and give it a second to click.

It’s SO tempting to immediately ask, “What am I doing wrong? How do I fix it?” Sometimes, the answer is to straighten your leg, point your danged toe, and squeeze your butt. But often, the answer is way more frustrating: just try it a few times, and try to feel your way through.

WHAT? I want you to TELL me what my body needs to do, dammit!

M’kay, valid, but that doesn’t always work. Sometimes, you need to FEEL it in your body; you need to inch your way through the movement, feel where the silk rests, find where the bar needs to settle, sleuth out the timing. You have to discover it from the inside out rather than the outside in. UNCOMFORTABLE, right?

You can mentally understand a movement pathway, but feel hella confused when you’re actually doing a move because you’re still in your head. Not to get all woo on you, but you’ve gotta get out of your head and into your body. What can you feel? Where is your weight? Where are your limbs? Where is the apparatus? OK, now where should it be? Can you move your body in a way that gets you closer? Try this. No? OK, try that. No? Oh wait – there it is!

I’m not going to stop banana-ing my handstands until I feel the banana and find the pathway to straight. It took me a full year before I figured out what Ms Ivory meant when she said “pull with your fingers”! It wasn’t that one day she simply explained it better, it was that I FELT it and connected the dots on my own. Lightbulb moment!

I’m certainly not saying to refrain from asking questions, or that you should just wait to “feel” everything. I am suggesting that, if something is overwhelming or eluding you, that you give it a hot second; do your best, and see if it sorts itself out. If it’s a long term battle, get input from lots of different sources and see if something clicks, but if your teacher says, “it just takes time”, well…. it may just take time. Love and pullups, Laura