Temperature inversions—this bloke I bloke I know thinks they are as rare as hen’s teeth and this dude has seen Nessie (for real, not in a “do you believe?” kind of way either). Both are naturally occurring phenomena, it’s just that one is seen a wee bit more often than the other.

Inversions happen when a valley traps a layer of freezing air, creating a wee frost hollow full of cloud. If you’re lucky enough to climb above it to higher ground, you get to look down on a whole sea of white, where wee rocky outcrops poke through like islands in an ocean.

It completely changes your perspective on the world. You are either stuck in the cloud or sitting with the sun roasting yer coupon with blue skies.

It reminds me of Hot yoga, where I really got passionate about Oms, Namastes and asanas. Going into a room heated to 40°C for ninety minutes to stretch, strain and sweat sounds like pure torture, I thought it was brilliant. Although one teacher, one class, one pose changed everything.

Headstands.

I was buzzing after it like a kid in a sweetie shop desperate to do it again and again and again — a physical inversion.
Standing on your head, upside down, forces you to see the world from a completely different angle. The room, the people, the mirrors — everything is inverted. At first it’s disorientating, but as you settle into the pose, and the calm arrives yer stainbrain clears then you drop down onto your knees and the prana or life force or the natural buzz juice starts racing round your insides. It becomes addictive and maybe why I am still doing inversions most days not just the odd time like nearly every day.

Try this wee trick next time yer feeling a bit wired and overwhelmed. Stand up. Balance your weight evenly between both feet, then lift one off the deck.

Hover your foot about an inch from the floor. Do it as long as you want, this isn’t a race or challenge its about stopping the negative stories in yer heed for a few moments. Giving you time to take a breath.

Notice how your perspective shifts? Yer no longer trapped in your heed with all the chatter. Yer grounded, present, and seeing things from a fresh angle. You can do this standing in the queue at Tesco’s, nobody will know.

It’s a wee inversion of your mental state.

You might climb above the clouds and stand on the top of a hill, or get awe hot and sweaty in a yoga class, or just take a moment to stand on one foot to gain a shift in your perspective stopping yer boulder nut bouncing all over the place.

And if all else fails, there’s always a freezing cold loch waiting to flip yer world completely upside down. Cold water forces you straight into the present moment whether you like it or not.

​If you’re struggling to find that fresh perspective, come for a wee dook with me. We can jump in, clear the clouds out of yer heed, and have a proper chat.

Please take care firing upside doon and swim safe  I try too.