Headstand Pose

"... your feet / you once thought could only / walk on asphalt, concrete, and dirt, / could reach towards heaven / and tip toe through the air." - from Headstand by Corie Feiner

Artwork by Rikkianne Van Kirk

I had only been practicing yoga for several months when I decided that I was going to work on doing a headstand. Why? Because it was 2020 and I needed to do something that seemed impossible. I needed to turn my world upside down. I needed to believe that if I worked at something for just a little bit every day that my body would learn to be less scared, that I would learn that DNA is not destiny, that I would overcome the story that just because no one in my bloodline had ever done a headstand, did not mean that I was fated to be weighted to this earth.

I knew that if I tried and failed and learned how to fall with grace, that I would, one day, do it, and then time would pass and I would look back to the day that I could not, and smile.

As Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

It took me about three months to lift both of my feet off the ground and about three more months to get comfortable enough to move my feet away from the wall. Slowly and with a lot of patience I moved into the beginning stages of a headstand practice.

The world was still mostly shut down, but I had done something impossible. I had turned my world upside down.

A rare photo of one of my first attempts at practicing Headstand.

---

Here are a few ways to “flip your script,” make a change, and yes… to turn your world upside down.

1. One way to turn your world upside down and take a break from “normal” perception, is to practice an inversion. If you are a beginner, you can practice a Forward Fold. Or, if you are more practiced in yoga and feel confident to do so, you could set a goal to do a headstand with proper instruction, guidance, and support. And if you know how to practice a headstand, let me know how it goes. Here are some instructional videos in case you need them or are curious —

---

2. Read or listen to, A New Earth: Awaken to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhardt Tolle. This book had a profound impact on my life by helping me understand how to work with the human ego imbedded in us all.

A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle

2. Read or listen to, Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg, and, if you are inspired to do so, take a course in Non-Violent Communication Course locally or online. I did both and it was profound. I learned how to practice empathy, solve conflicts more peacefully, and communicate more compassionately.

Nonviolent Communication, by Marshall Rosenberg

---

4. And lastly, read my poem, Headstand, and let me know what you think!

   

   A photo of me practicing Headstand this past winter.

---

Headstand


By Corie Feiner


It is said that the redwood trees 
walk at night, softly, their roots
stepping gently on the fertile soil 
we thought kept them in place. 
 
It is said the headstand can turn
your world upside down, your feet
you once thought could only 
walk on asphalt, concrete, and dirt, 
could reach towards heaven
and tip toe through the air. 
 
It is said it takes one woman to change 
the course of history and although 
I spent most of my life believing 
that I was bottom heavy like my mothers 
before me, I decided I had to turn the world 
upside down, daily reciting, If I can do a headstand, 
I can do anything. 
 
And I remember the day I first held 
my legs above my heart and planted my feet
in the sky, my thoughts poured from my head 
like rainwater drop by drop collecting 
in the leaf mold gutter of my mind
 
and when they burst through and 
cascaded away from me, I became  
nothing and no one flowing 
with the newborn words, 
So you can do anything, huh? 
What’s next?
 
 
 

Sanskrit Name: Salamba Sirsasana

---

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read this. Please do share anything below on how you have practiced turning your world upside down physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

---

Audio for Paid Subscribers

For my dear paid subscribers, you can listen to me reading Headstand by clicking here.

For my other dear free subscribers, consider upgrading to paid. But if that is not in your script right now, no worries, I am grateful for you all!

---