The Insecurity Blanket

For years before I was a freestanding handstander in the middle of the room, well…I wasn’t.

I was utterly stuck to the wall, petrified to practice my handstands in the middle of the room.

Funny thing is that this love affair with Paul (The Wall), was fairly loveless, indeed. Before I finally ventured to the center of the room, Paul and I didn’t so much as touch for a year or two. But I needed him. So. Badly!

Anyone who watched me practicing my handstand back then would be quick to point out that I wasn’t using the wall at all. I could balance off the wall without so much as a love tap, no problem.

They would have been wrong.

You see, you don’t have to kick up to the wall to use the wall in handstands. You don’t have to lean on it, press into it, or even touch it. Because if you practice in front of the wall because you think you can’t do a handstand with a wall behind you, you are mentally using the wall.

As someone recently explained their process to me…the wall is a security blanket. Just knowing it is there makes the challenge and risk of a handstand seem safe and manageable.

A security blanket.

I think I need to clear something up.

Anyone who uses the wall for handstands–in any capacity, either physical or psychological–is not using it as a security blanket. They are using it as an insecurity blanket. They are using it to coddle their fears instead of overcome them.

Take it from me, the only way to get off the wall is to get off the wall. Once and for all.

Your mind may go wild. You may jump out of your skin. And, more than likely, you will have to start your whole entry process from scratch when you move to the middle of the room. But the most magical transformation will also take place, because you will have truly shed your insecurity once and for all.