Some folk believe they are rare. In fact I know one bloke that has seen Nessie (for real ) not in a “do you believe question” either. Both are naturally occurring phenomena, just that one is seen more than the other. 

Inversions can be caused in a wee frost hollow created by a valley trapping in a layer of  clouds. If your lucky enough, climb to higher ground that will allow you to see a sea of clouds, where wee rocky out crops look like islands. 

I have spoke about an inspiring yoga teacher before, when I was mad for hot yoga. A warm sweaty room filled with bare chested blokes in thier cool shorts and burds all kitted out in thier most recent matching yoga pants and crop tops repeating the same 26 poses. The moist heat encourages an addictive rapid progression, getting bendier holding poses longer and learning self discipline to control the breath when it started getting ragged. With confidence and regular direct debits you could progress to the front of the room. directly in front of the mirrored wall to assist mentors directions, massage egos and avoid distractions. My repetitive target was derailed and my yoga journey took a more adventurous path, when a bubbly american teacher refused to follow the familiar sequence. All it took was a headstand to get me considering aspirations maybe because my perspective had got stuck upside down or maybe that was all it took to alter my routine way of thinking. The studio’s owner’s firm reminder  that it was a silent class and students were not expected to verbalise emotions when I burst into excited exclamations on returning to my feet didn’t help.  I had discovered a new yoga world. 

It began to become fit and stretchier then more mobile but think it has progressed more from physical to a mental thing.

Sorry not sorry 

Theres some poorly edited school work below.

Try standing socks off, feet side-by-side with your bare big toes touching and a slight gap at the ankles. 

Pull your stomach muscles in, not in a, looking in the mirror wondering where your 6 pack went. Gently pull your belly in a wee bit and tighten up yer butt cheeks at the same time. We are trying to ease the curvature of yer tail bone, and release tension. This exercise stops us collapsing into a bad posture for the lower back by tilting the pelvis straight up and down into a neutral position. It works for me maybe not you. In fact, you can keep yer shoes and socks on for this pelvis adjusting exercise. 

Come on,

Stand up

Try it.

But more importantly concentrate on your body functions rather than the goings on in yer stain brain. 

The physical activity might ease yer boulder nut’s activity. Allow you to unclench yer jaw. Allow a full breath.

After you have stopped the disco belly dancing moves resulting in a neutral pelvis try following next simple exercise.

Stand again with bare toes together.

Unsocked feet are important. Not just for grounding or grip. The next exercise you will have to watch and study your feet.

Look down at both your feet 

Solid, unmoving and stationary. 

Now, lift up right foot, hover it about an inch off the ground.

Look at your left foot, ignore the hovering foot. 

Observe the dance your muscles do in your standing foot. It’s not a failure to be unable to balance on one leg and this could be the start of a balancing adventure. Try to not put your right foot down or in the most unsteady cases not to fall over. 

Don’t exert yourself. Its only about observing, not ego based stamina and duration records. 

Swap the feet out, even just try a couple times 

Its easier in bare feet to see your feet reacting. But am thinking trying to follow my written mumbled directions without getting visual indications that the second exercise may be easier.

The primary reason these two exercises are not physical but mental for me is that even though there may be neutral pelvis and balancing issues, it’s about observing and not conforming. As long as you conduct these exercises in a safe area, not on a precarious ledge, busy highway or crowded bar you won’t feel self conscious and will be concentrating on your body’s motions. Not on your or your neighbors bank balance or conversations you wish you had or preparing for.

For me it’s

crikey! Look at my foot, its moving all over the place 

Or 

Eh! How relaxed does my back feel 

That’s the magic right there. 

No dreams or regrets. Just focused on yourself and not in a unhealthy, narcissistic self-absorbed way 

Or this might only work for me and sounds like complete mumbo jumbo rubbish.

Right, fire your socks and shoes back on.

Back to inversions.

When was the last time you got upside down. At any opportunity I do a handstand and endeavor try to get folk upside down. For a large percentage of the population that are to old to be forced into physical activity at school, will never ever ever get inverted or consider standing on their head. 

I am getting better at figuring out which folk with a little encouragement will join me upside down. I don’t know if its my overactive imagination but you can see my victims get a real kick out of being forced against a nearby wall with their legs kicked high above their head. 

Its not a hallucination, you can see folk are genuinely happy. For the 30 seconds they nervously spent emptying their pockets making sure thier boss wasn’t watching and then when they return to earth. Thier normal day has been turned upside down for a brief moment. They get a natural high from the release of chemicals caused by inverting but also they gained a vacation from thier routine and peace and quite from a constant nagging brain. 

Back to your homework, the next time your standing on a train station platform or waiting to scan your shopping basket at Teshcos, instead of dreaming of a new blouse or worrying about getting the kids to dance class and football training give your brain a holiday and try balancing on one foot, if that feels weird and you are worried about folk watching try tipping yer pelvis back and forth a few times.  

It doesn’t take much to climb up to a high eerie and poke yer heed through brian fog  to experience blue skies and the warming sun of a mental inversion. 

Just a smile, a hello and good morning or an encouraged handstand, some meditation, a physical activity,  like a game of five a sides or some easily disguised leg balances waiting for a white pudding supper in the chip shop.

Thats when the magic happens.

The fotos are from a cycle camp years ago and from about where am based these days and the first one was borrowed. Getupsidedoon and ootside or combine them