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let-me-love-you-loki · 4 years ago

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Crushing Too Late

Mattie

I always loved coming with Dad and Papa to work. I knew with everything in me that one day, I was going to be just like them. That I was going to be a wrestler and people were going to say that I was the best.

For as long as I could remember, I’d wanted to be like them. I’d wanted to do everything that they did. Whenever Mom would let them, they’d pull out an old ring they’d bought and put it together on the tennis court or the back yard. Then Papa and Dad would get in it with me, tell me stories about everyone they’d wrestled in that ring as they taught me everything they knew. And what they didn’t know, Uncle Kenny, Uncle Adam, and Uncle Cody would show me. Sometimes Uncle Brandon or some of the other people who worked with my dads would train with me.

Whenever I went with them to shows, Dad and Papa always promised that I could train in the ring after it was set up. And no matter how many times I came with them, they never once broke their promise.

“You’re getting better at that,” Dad said as I ran into the corner and flipped over onto the apron, just like he did. “Now let’s see the rest of it.”

He stood next to the ropes while Papa stood outside. I looked between the two of them and grinned.

Papa got close, I kicked out and slapped the outside of my thigh as he took my shoe on the palm of his hand. “See ya!” I grunted just before I leaned between the top and middle rope and put my shoulder into Dad’s stomach.

He let out an exaggerated oof as I jumped onto the top rope, sprang off and pulled him face-down onto the mat. Then I flipped into a handstand and kicked my legs through the top and middle rope. My feet landed on the apron, I took half a second to make sure Papa was right there, and then did a moonsault. Everyone else called this the perpetual offence machine. Mom called it Dad showing off.

Papa caught me over his shoulder, but instead of falling back, he grinned at me. “Caught in a counter, Tea. What’re you going to do?”

I looked at how Papa had caught me. I honestly had no clue what to do. I’d never ever seen anyone counter Dad’s move before.

“Nyla or Shida would have driven you into the ring apron by now,” Dad said from the ropes.

Before I could think further, a voice came shouting down from the stage area. “DDT!”

“What?” I shouted back. When I looked up from Papa’s back, I thought I was going to choke. Trent and Chuck were walking down the ramp with their friend Orange Cassidy right behind them. I blushed and tried to wriggle out of Papa’s hold. Instead I kneed him in the ribs hard enough for him to drop me onto the mat at ringside.

I felt the heat burn through my face as I looked up and saw them standing there. Cassidy smiled as he offered me his hand to pull me up. “DDT would do the trick,” he said as he heaved me easily to my feet. He was in street clothes and wasn’t wearing his trademark sunglasses or jacket.

I didn’t like how my tongue got tied into knots whenever they were around. Chuck always told jokes and made me laugh. We traded bad jokes and insults about how stupid the other one was. Trent would let me sit on his back while he did pushups until either he fell over or I couldn’t stop laughing. Then he’d do pull ups while I clung to his legs. Cassidy was almost always there, usually sitting quietly in the corner watching the three of us act like idiots. But he never said much, and I never knew what to say to him.

But when he did speak, it made my heart sink into my toes and I thought I was going to be sick. He had a nice voice and really pretty eyes. I couldn’t stop staring at him, even as I felt my face go redder and redder with each passing second.

I heard Dad’s voice from the ring. “Remind me not to use that in the match tonight. I can’t have the King of Sloth Style show me up.”

Cassidy laughed and I got that sick feeling in my stomach again. It was like a straight drop on a roller coaster without a safety bar. It made me dizzy. “Dude, we both know you move too fast for me.”

“Aww, I’m sorry, Cass. Let’s have dinner first, how about that?”

Papa snorted. Trent hid his laugh behind his fist. Chuck hopped up on the ring apron. “Only if you have him home by eleven, Nick. Doesn’t do well if he misses his bedtime.”

I looked up and saw Dad grinning ear to ear. I always loved seeing him smile. It made Papa and Mom happy. Especially since there was a time when Dad didn’t smile all the way. But being with his friends, being around everyone at the show, it always brought out his easy grins. I felt myself mirror his expression. Everyone said I looked like him. Sometimes I thought that bothered Papa and, honestly, I didn’t like it all the time either.

But when it came to smiling, Dad had the best one. And I was glad I’d gotten it, too.

Matt

Nick, Chuck, and Cassidy traded snappy remarks and comebacks while Trent and I watched them like a tennis match. It wasn’t unusual. The five of us had done enough bits for Being the Elite to have a pretty solid rapport by now.

Our eldest stood in the midst of it, looking up at Nick and beaming when he smiled. The more I saw it, the easier it was to see that she was his twin. Mischievous, funny, whole-hearted, and exceptionally aware of her place in the world. Mattie had Nick’s eyes and his smile, and hair that was somewhere between mine and her mother’s.

Like them, she was also a completely open book. Oh Jesus, I’m not ready for this.

Nick

I flopped onto the mat and rolled out to sit up on the apron. Mattie was a few steps away, her face bright red. She hopped up onto the ring next to me and tucked herself beneath my arm. I gave her a squeeze and kissed the top of her head. She was fifteen, and I was afraid that the day was coming when she didn’t want to be our little girl anymore. I’d take what I could get until then.

“Dad, can I come to ringside tonight?” she asked quietly.

I grinned at her. “Sure, Tea. We’ll get you a spot in the front row.”

Our daughter grinned at me and kissed my cheek. “I’m going to go annoy Uncle Adam.” She slid onto her feet and hugged Matt around the waist.

“Yeah,” Chuck said throwing his arm around Mattie’s shoulder. “Let’s go annoy Adam.”

Cassidy and Trent fell into step with the two of them as they walked up the ramp and disappeared backstage. I watched until they were out of sight.

“God, she’s growing up so fast.”

Matt crossed his arms and glared in the direction they’d left. “Too fast. I’m not ready for this.”

“Ready for what?” I queried as I joined him at the base of the ramp. “Matt, she’s not going to get in the ring or be on TV for a while.”

My brother grunted. “I’d rather put her on TV tonight than this. Did you not see what I just saw?” When I didn’t answer, he threw his hands up. “She’s looking at Cassidy.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Matt, relax. She’s fifteen. And he’s our age. Plus… Jesus, she’s known him all her life.”

“I don’t like it.”

Mattie

“I don’t know where Uncle Adam is,” I said nervously, standing outside the locker room that was usually his. “Maybe he’s not here yet.”

“Pushups?” Trent asked, his brows raised. There was a slight smirk to his smile that made me grin.

“I’ve got some yo mama jokes you haven’t heard yet,” Chuck offered.

I looked up at him, hoping I looked very serious. “You talk about my Mom and I’ll superkick you in the teeth.”

Cassidy laughed from where he leaned against the wall. “I would pay money to see that. Actually…” He dug his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out twenty dollars. “I’ll give you this right now, Mattie, if you do it.”

“Come on, Orange. You know she’d never—”

Before Chuck could finish, I’d leaned back and delivered a superkick that Dad and Papa would be proud of. The very tip of my sneaker bopped Chuck in the chin. It was habit to slap the outside of my knee at the contact, and the noise echoed down the hallway. He staggered dramatically and plopped onto his butt on the floor. I laughed.

I lost my balance. Wobbling on my planted foot, I saw the floor come rushing up at me. An instant later, a set of arms locked around my chest. Cassidy took a moment to steady me before settling me upright.

My whole body tingled. I could feel my face burning bright red as I smiled nervously. Cassidy grinned. “That was perfect.”

I beamed beneath his praise. My heart raced in my chest. I thought I was going to faint. I couldn’t catch my breath for the life of me. He was so close, and his eyes were so pretty and brown.

“Dad’s going to get me a ringside seat tonight,” I blurted out. The moment the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to slap myself. Why did I say that?

Cassidy grinned even wider. “That’s going to be fun.”

***

Papa took me out to my seat before the show started. “Be good. And enjoy the show, Tea.”

I reached over the barrier and hugged him as tight as I could. “I love you, Papa.”

He squeezed me hard and kissed my forehead. “Love you too, sweetheart.”

After he went backstage, I watched the fans file in and take their seats. I loved the noise and the crush of people and the signs and energy. It was one of the reasons I wanted to be a wrestler.

Dad, Papa, and Uncle Kenny were starting the show against Chuck, Trent, and Cassidy. I grinned as The Elite music thundered through the arena. Dad, Papa, and Uncle Kenny came out, paper money came flying out of the cannons by the ramp. My heart thumped and thudded in my chest as they came down to the ring. I shouted and waved, jumped up and down, screamed in joy. Each time I saw them was just like the first time—exhilarating and terrifying and beautiful.

Once they were in the ring, new music started. Chuck and Trent came out, Cassidy right behind them. I always giggled when Trent and Chuck walked to the ring arm-in-arm or holding hands. They all looked so ready to fight, so determined to best my dads and Uncle Kenny. I waved at them too, screaming in happiness.

They hopped into the ring together. Cassidy crossed the mat and shrugged out of his denim jacket, tucking his sunglasses in the pocket. Instead of tossing it to the ringside table, he rolled beneath the bottom rope and handed the jacket to me. He winked, and I felt the heat tear through me. I blushed and stammered.

“Take care of that while your dad kicks my ass.”

I clutched it to my chest and tucked it against my nose to hide the way a smile split over my face.

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@mox-made-me-do-it @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @lilred91 @imagineall-the-fandoms @maelleoute @librathepheonix13 @justamess44

#crushing too late #too late tales #the too late tales #matt jackson #matt jackson fanfiction #nick jackson #nick jackson fanfiction #young bucks #young bucks fanfiction #mattie jackson #aew #aew fanfiction #matt x reader #matt x reader x nick #nick x reader

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mullersturtleneck · 5 years ago

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You all asked for another set of my trash human Hadestown hot takes so.....

I think maybe I should just start from the beginning and go from there, and sprinkle some details in when I think about them. And since you’ve mentioned before that detail is a good thing, I’m going to try really hard to articulate the 500 versions of “I can’t” and “She did that” and “UM” and “GIRL” Also as always, I apologize, but this is honestly a lot of Eva and Reeve heavy content. I love all of the cast, they are all so phenomenally talented and wonderful, but as usual my mind has chosen to hyper-focus on two things so this is what it is.)

(So. I’m thankful for this platform because before my notes were ALL “Um” and “Girl” and now you guys are motivating me to actually write what I’ve been thinking about non-stop all day on my one hour of sleep. So. Thank you! I went about labeling every song-and I actually end up having thoughts for every one, because I went back and listened through and wrote down what I could remember/the things I thought were relevant for the people that won’t be able to see it outside of the boot that literally everyone but me has at this point).

This is only act I. This is a loooooong hot take. This is a lot of Eva and Reeve specific commentary. This is just a lot of commentary. I think it’d be cool/beneficial/whatever to listen as you read? LOL thanks for coming to my actual, legitimate 5 page essay on Act I.

So. My overarching thought of the night (and, actually, I think I mentioned this when I was there two weeks ago too) is that Eva has been playing an incredibly soft Eurydice lately. Compared to when I was there for previews in April, or even back in August, it seems like each time I’ve gone back she just gets softer and softer, and it’s made me so incredibly happy to see her characterization grow. I do see Eurydice as someone who has been through a lot, and does have that tougher skin, and I think that Eva does a fantastic job in representing that in Any Way the Wind Blows. She keeps her voice strong and consistent, and has this look on her face that’s a cross between worry, wavering confidence, and just this tough shell of a girl who’s trying not to look like she’s given up. And this works so incredibly well when she meets Orpheus. Because I’m telling you, the flip in her demeanor happens in the most noticeably beautiful way during Wedding Song. But first, let’s talk about the fact that I’m not sure who decided that it’d be a good idea that Eva play with fire during this song, and aesthetically it’s just such a MOMENT to see Eurydice looking bored, head down on her arms on the table, eyes wide and uninterested/exhausted/hungry as she runs each of her fingers through the flame (and, at times, pauses to inspect the finger she’s just put into the fire, rub it against another finger or the table, and then begin her game again) I don’t know why this has become one of my favorite things about the staging but? I imagine this being something Eurydice just does sometimes to keep herself from thinking about how hungry she is, and it becomes a habit so that in the iteration where they both make it out of Hadestown and live happily ever after Eurydice just does this one time and makes poor Orpheus jump out of his skin worried that she’s somehow going to send herself back down by doing this. Because they still are walking on eggshells about the fact that they made it out and here she is playing with fire, LITERALLY. Okay, moving on....

So. What I like about Wedding Song live is that her speaking voice just. It’s a bit higher, softer. She still carries the teasing tone, but there’s just this incredulous lift in “is he always like this?” and a lot of laughter in “Oooh, he’s crazy.” and Reeve plays Orpheus so sweet and innocent that you can’t help but feel bad for this bumbling idiot stumbling over himself at this beautiful girl sitting there looking completely cool and collected. But. There’s a beautiful thing about the composition and balance Eva is able to maintain in that you can see that Eurydice is openly intrigued, but keeps herself guarded in a playful sort of way. Almost like she can’t keep herself guarded and wants to let her guard down. Her smile kills me over and over again during this scene. Again, Eva’s Eurydice has turned into quite the small, beautiful romantic and I just am so in love with everything that she has subtly changed and morphed, the girl is an absolute QUEEN.

Also, I can’t go any further without saying a big THANKS to Eva for making me cry the SECOND I heard her start to sing Any Way the Wind Blows and just continue that train all night long. What a fucking night.

Okay, so my favorite thing about Epic I is the sheer power that small boy Orpheus has in singing his la laas for the first time. I remember distinctly having the most goosebumps the first time I witnessed this back in April, and every single time it just. Leaves me breathless. And I think now that it’s been a few times, the goosebumps come from knowing how significant this melody will be throughout the show. But Reeve’s facial expressions as he sings them? Make you believe that la is the most important syllable in the dictionary. He closes his eyes and just feels the music and plays his guitar and he is just so phenomenally talented that WOW. Also my favorite small part of this song is that during my favorite line “with them the cycle of the seed and the sickle, etc.” he spins in circles while playing and singing and just. It’s the smallest amount of choreography that feels the most necessary, as if it’s Orpheus becoming so enraptured with the music that he has to move! And it’s in the middle of the tables that are in the “bar,” with the workers and Eurydice looking on and watching him tell this tale. It all feels so incredibly genuine-it makes you believe that Orpheus singing to the workers is something they’ve witnessed, almost something they look forward to when they come to the bar. I think it has to do with the fact that they’re all just watching him, intrigued but also settled in? As if this is routine, this is comfort, his songs are meant for them and for this little community he has. Even when he plays the first note of the Epic they’ve settled in and are sitting up watching him and listening intently. It gives his character a lot of soft power and dynamic without having to say anything, establishing him as an integral part of this life without so much as a word.

Uhhh Living it Up On Top is just my most favorite feel-good bop. Why? Because of the ensamble. Watching them dance is a blessing. It honestly feels like watching a fucking family reunion freestyle dance party every single time. You can physically see and feel how close this cast is; they make faces at each other, they laugh, and also this instrumental break included the Eva Noblezada booty drop which is EVERYTHING. And she also did a full leg extension kick this time which. Girl. Save some talent and cuteness for everyone else. I also find it extremely appropriate that during all of this kickass dancing and partying our boy Orpheus in all of his gangly, limbly qualities can be found sort of flitting around the stage, taking Persephone’s coat, then Eurydice’s, then putting things away and moving around giving out the cups to toast- like. It’s lowkey established in this scene that he’s 10/10 not the cool and effortless one in this relationship and is the cute small boy child. And I don’t know if that’s because I think that Eva’s really cool and charismatic and Reeve is a bit more shy in a crowd situation, but that’s 100% how this comes off to me/how I perceive the characterization and I’m here for it. And when the line “to the patroness of all of this, Persephone” came up Reeve was like 10 octaves higher than the cast recording, all squeaky and flustered. And then between that and his next line, he took a breath and smiled the big stupid baby Orpheus smile that makes him so charming-if you weren’t rooting for him before now you’re messed, but after the smile? And the high-toned, flustered rambling toast? Makes it impossible not to love him. (Also “to the world we dream about…” is my most favorite Hadestown quote so. I choked because every time I hear it, especially as genuine and sweet as Reeve says it as he looks out at the crowd, and then at the audience, is just. It makes you feel the reality that this show crosses with its messages and its story as a whole). And then after they drink their toast they all sputter and cough, and then the ending when they all sing “HOW ARE WE LIVING IT” it literally is so powerful and dynamic, I love this ensemble so fucking much. Their energy truly fuels the show. We are blessed.

OOOOHKAY CHILDREN BUCKLE UP FOR ME BEING DECEASED. Because All I’ve Ever Known? Um Eva, what the fuck? In a good way. In the way that the second she started singing I started crying immediately. Because I’ll say it again, she’s just become so soft and romantic that I can’t even handle it. The distinct memory I have from this song (where I literally almost hit my cousin because I went from heart-eyed staring with no breathing and my head in my hands like the stupid hopeless baby lesbian that I am to breathing everything in all at once and coughing a BIG cough of just. Literally just love.) During “You take me in your arms, and suddenly there’s sunlight all around me” Orpheus holds Eurydice with her back to him, and she opens her arms and sings about the sunlight. And I fucking SWEAR TO GOD the smile on her face. Like. Big, wide, eyes closed, you’d 100% fall in love with her the second you saw it too. I don’t know how you couldn’t. She just looks so incredibly happy and peaceful and this is the moment she completely drops her guard (although I’ll say that I believe a lot of it is dropped earlier along. But this moment is a transcendental experience) OH ALSO during the violin instrumental she literally does this like. Handstand split Over Reeve’s head that is so poetically beautiful (that entire choreography is, like. It really just makes the love feel so incredibly palpable, and the fact that this is the turning point of moments where suddenly there are NO MOMENTS where they’re not all over each other is just. It’s a moment.) And then they kiss and it’s flawless and I sob profusely at how beautifully done this entire choreography/moment/existence of two souls happens.

Way Down Hadestown also includes two of my favorite moments; Amber Gray dancing with her body at a 90 degree angle, head looking at the floor, and Orpheus and Eurydice peacing out and sitting to the side sharing a bar stool unable to keep themselves away from each other. Which. Is everything to the point where I literally told my cousin to watch them during this song. Because. His ear kisses (which. I hyperventilated about for like 3 paragraphs back in the beginning of October) are SO MUCH (so tender. So soft. The brushing back of the hair over her ears and the soft spoken words and the head on her head make me want to careen into an abyss and fall in love immediately) but I love them with all of my heart, he is so soft and gentle and it literally feels like such a moment being intruded upon that this is the way these two characters were meant to be played and I will accept nothing else. Also, Eva’s little minor chord, jazzy vocal moment during the last “way down under the GROOOOOOOUND is so beautifully done, I can’t believe she exists and just acts like it’s not a big deal that she can just. Be that good. And I also love the way that this moment is staged; Hades and Persephone are standing on the center turntable, and at those last few “way down, Hadestown, way down under the ground” after “kind of makes you wonder how it feels,” right when it kicks back into the faster tempo the turntable starts to descend. And there’s some fog, and they all stand and watch them go under the ground, and when Eurydice sings the last “way down under…she moves closer to the now hole in the ground and looks deeper, as if she’s so curious as to what is going on.

A Gathering Storm/Epic II I just like that in the OBC recording, Eurydice sounds kind of salty when she says “well, until someone brings the world back into tune, this is how it is.” But I think that it’s perceived more as a kind of matter-of-fact thing, as if watching Persephone descend has brought her back into her shell a little bit, set off some anxieties. She shrugs her shoulders and looks complacent, as if to tell him without as many words that she’s done this before, this is old news, this is going to happen. And when he says “he came for her too soon,” it’s rushed and quiet, but frantic, as if the entire weight of the situation immediately has been cast on his shoulders. And for the most part, that’s all I’ve got for him. The real superstar in this scene is the fucking imagery used to introduce the workers, and the symbolism of the workers AS THE WALL. So, when he says “With a million hands, he built a wall” the workers ascend from the center turntable in that really tight knit formation we’ve all seen pictures of and it’s just. Watching them in their uniforms come up as he’s talking about this big, brilliant wall and the workers begin to move in unison, then begin their chanting???? The lighting changes, the entire feel changes just based on the workers chanting and really having this ferociously unified choreography. And the most intense facial expressions ever. And they move from the center turntable to the outsides, and then fucking Hades and Persephone come up when the transition happens to Chant and it’s. All you need to completely transform a set is the lighting change, the workers, and the turntable. It’s the most incredible thing to witness this and feel like you’re in a completely different place.

Also, I just always feel for Eurydice in this moment. Because. She’s trying so hard to communicate with Orpheus, who’s standing at the bar stool they’d had their moment at during Way Down Hadestown writing this song, and you can see that she’s trying to be supportive but when she says “is he always like this?” it’s just. Exhaustion. And she says it so much more quiet and defeated than she does on the OBC. It’s heartbreaking. Because at the same point you’re watching Orpheus struggle to write this song, closing his eyes and tapping his feet and just trying to feel and let that feeling translate him into the rest of this song but it just won’t come, and you can see his growing frustration in his furrowed brow and his closed eyes. What I noticed is that during Eva’s little solos “Trying to trust that the song he’s working on is gonna shelter us…” / “I’m trying to believe that the song he’s working on is gonna harbor me from the wind” She hasn’t gone up on the last little phrase like she does on the OBC, which is one of the things I find to be so powerful on the OBC. And it’s still beautiful, but I’m wondering why she’s seemingly been choosing to go down instead of have that little moment of vocal power. OH ALSO. When she says “Give that back! It’s everything we have!” Her voice was BROKEN. And by that I mean she sounded so worried and devastated that. It just. Her voice was cracking as she pleaded for the fates to leave her alone and it was so immensely wonderful, but heartbreaking. Because as she struggles with the fates and their winds, and they rip her possessions from her one by one, she shrinks further into herself as she tries to buck up and continue fighting. But you can see as each thing gets taken (her backpack, her coat, etc) she grows more and more devastated and frightened. And then when they take her jacket, and she has nothing left, and she sings “SHEEEELTER US, HAAAARBOR ME!” She’s on her knees with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth and it is torturous to witness because you just want to cry for her. And Eva’s such a fucking powerhouse that you can feel the raw emotion, the fear and the devastation, and it just consumes. It’s amazing to be broken by Eva Noblezada over and over again, and that’s what she does this entire show. She is phenomenal.

Hey, Little Songbird is a song I don’t really have a lot of notes for. But the one note I do have is that Patrick Page makes everyone so in awe and also slightly frightened or incredibly woke (the amount of small whispers in the audience that compare him to a certain man of political power are to be expected, but always are significant) He also just. Skeeves me out so much in this song, and Eurydice is so broken already that it’s kind of like. She’s resigned and having trouble making sense out of anything that life has just thrown at her, and she keeps going to hold herself because she’s cold and hungry and tortured, and she just. Honestly, she makes the choice seem like one that Eurydice had to make because she looks so lost and hungry and upset and unable to hold herself up anymore that the choice doesn’t seem like a misguided one.

When the Chips are Down If I could have as much talent in my body as these girls have in their pinky finger I’d be set for life. Also, now’s a good time to mention that I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jessie Shelton step in as a fate and it just. It was a wonderful experience, that girl is incredible. I saw her in August as Eurydice and she did a fantastic job (my only note back then had been that her chemistry with Reeve hadn’t been as strong, but I loved what she did with Eurydice-making her more badass and thick-skinned and over-it and also I genuinely don’t think that the Reeve-Eva chemistry can be matched.) But the flawless nature of these three souls singing together and just. Being the shit-eating-grin, fun to fuck you up, take no prisoners voices inside of your head? It just furthers the interpretation that they are the voices in your head amplified, because while they’re sort of doing their mockery of Eurydice/pushing her for her choice/etc. she covers her ears at one point they’re taunting her and it just. It feels to me as they’re pushing her around that they’re the personification of the battle inside of her heart as well, and she can’t escape the turmoil.

Gone, I’m Gone Me crying because I knew Wait for Me was coming so I was digging through my bag for my tissues and gently laying some on my cousin’s lap. (she hadn’t done a full listen-through of Hadestown before either, so I just. Gently prepared her for what was to come without saying a single word.

Wait for Me Okay, how detailed can I go? I don’t know how to fully capture the immense, all-encompassing, my heart is literally stopped inside of my chest but also full-on beating heavy as possible feeling. The second the first notes started the tears started pouring. I have such a fond memory of seeing this for the first time that every time afterward, I just. MY body kicks into this mode of complete and utter captivation. I’m also an empath so getting to experience a room full of people on the edge of their seats, dead silence, utter captivation and zero breath…..I will never forget this feeling. When I saw Hadestown back in April while it was still in previews, this song was given a 3 minute standing ovation….everyone was just struck and unable to handle the raw emotion. And it still rings true to this day-I was clutching my tissue with such force, watching the lights swing and the workers and their lamps through my tears. The most powerful moment is when the workers come out with their headlamps, and it gets dark-you wonder where you’re being transported to next. It’s a tethering atmosphere. And then, when they plug the lamps in and send them up? When the lamps begin swinging and their lights swing over the audience, casting this brilliant movement and shadow into the air? It holds so much mystery and hope and it gives off this incredible, indescribable power. And the power of the chorus singing along with him? It doesn’t feel like they’re the workers singing along. It feels like Orpheus’s love is so strong and so powerful that the workers are actually just his voice amplifying and exploding and CAREENING AND CREATING ALL OF THIS FUCKING POWER FROM HIS SONG AND HIS LOVE. And also, during the la la las around 1:40 on the OBC recording, when it gets soft and quiet, that’s when the lamps go up into the air, and there’s a rumbling and some fog and the set sort of opens up to reveal sections of bright lights that glow warm, and red. He’s opening the fucking stone wall with his song, people, and it’s the most brilliantly moving staging I have ever seen. Again, you don’t need one million props to captivate an audience. It’s the way the story is told and the music is composed and everything working together. I love this. I love that nothing distracts from the moment, that the las and the workers elevating his voice and the movement of the set and the lights and the fog all come together as one coherent set piece instead of parts of a working machine. It feels so natural that you believe that Orpheus is actually opening the wall with his voice. This piece of theatre is so transcendental that you forget that you’re not actually there. Props to Reeve Carney for existing because the way he performs this song is just so captivating and pure, and you can see the desperation in his eyes but you can also hear it in his voice; it’s more strained (not in a bad or unhealthy way at all, I just mean that it’s like. The culmination of his efforts from the Epic and how hard he was concentrating have elevated his power and he’s just fully unleashing it) You can physically see what I believe-that this strain, this hurt and this hope and this desperation are what lead him to opening the wall. He was able to do it because as he was singing, he was clearly just hurt and so damn determined that he just. He had this red-cheeked, hard-lipped expression while he sang and his body (which I lovingly describe as gangly and limbly) is just. In a power stance. Like. You fully believe in the power of this man during this song, he gives it everything and he is a good portion of the reason it carries its power so immensely through the audience. There’s not a dry eye in the house after. And what I love is the collective, disbelieving mumblings of “oh my god” or “wow” or “he’s incredible” that echo through the room as the applause happens (and lingers, and lingers, until Why We Build the Wall cues us to take a fucking breath) (and the subsequent chatter of people basically asking if what they just watched was real, unable to not mention it during intermission).

Why We Build the Wall This is another one of my all-time favorite Hadestown songs. It just hits so hard. And for a while in the very beginning, I wondered why they didn’t end Act I with Wait for Me. I understand now. I don’t think I fully appreciated this song during my first few listen-throughs, and possibly not even after the first time I saw it. I think that this song deserves to be there because while Wait for Me has a lot of emotional lift and power and just pure mass to it, Why We Build the Wall holds its power differently. It makes the audience kind of shift in their seats, come back to the world we are in, kind of step back from the beautiful show of powerful love and hope and dedication that is Wait for Me and remember that oh, this is what’s going on on the other side. This is the man that’s trying to take everything away from Orpheus. And Patrick Page is such a gently commanding presence during this song-he is strong, and powerful, but in a way that feels scarily easy to him; like he is so confident in his power that it translates to this easy, call-and-response conversation because he knows his workers have no choice but to answer him and to appease him. Also the workers? In this song? Are a sheer force of nature. They look to the audience as they respond to each phrase Hades sings with these set-in-stone, serious, hardened expressions that match each other, and are perfectly in-synch. That’s what terrifies me about the Workers, is that they are so in tune to each other that it truly is like watching a wall, or a well-oiled machine. They do such a beautiful job in creating this sense of unease that this song was absolutely meant to be the ending of act I; they drive you to tears and ferocious emotion with Wait for Me, but they keep you unsettled and uncomfortable and stirred by Why We Build the Wall. And that, my friends, is why this musical was nominated for and won so many Tony’s. Because of it’s ability to make you feel, to ponder and to talk and to interpret. This show is so unique, and wonderful, and full of incredible things that I am always just in awe of it every time I see it.

Carry-Over notes: I skipped around a lot of my notes from the night of the show just because I couldn’t fit the less articulate with my actual thoughts post-show. I listened to the entirety of Act I while doing this, and took notes to the best of my ability and what I could remember.

· Eva Noblezada is such a soft human being, she is a treasure to this earth and I fully support everything she’s done with Eurydice thus far; soft doesn’t mean weak, and she translates that really well to the way she chooses to carry her. She is a strong woman, but she is so fucking in love that she is also so soft and pure. But you still wouldn’t fuck her up ever

· A good chunk of my notes from that night are about how Reeve singing the la laas in Epic I is a transcending experience, and how his soft and genuine and gentle expression made me break down immediately, and it can be felt in your soul.

· I also mention about 100 times that Reeve is 10/10 the only boy who has my heart because he is so artistically passionate and just really really fucking good at what he does (and so, so soft especially in the Orphrydice moments and what I’m calling his making Orpheus canonically obsessed with kissing Eurydice’s ear/side of cheek/neck it is THE SOFTEST MOST PURE THING)

So sorry. This is the longest of ramblings. But you asked for details and honestly I’m really excited to be able to have these long ass notes to save and keep with my playbills to show in the future with my kids or the patrons of the Broadway themed café I want to open when I’m a mid 40s lesbian with a wife and maybe some adopted kids.

#hadestown #like #i mean you can read this #i know it's a LOT #but I have a lot of feelings on Hadestown and I'm actually glad you all suggested I do this #just know that I'm not writing another dissertation in November #my notes will go back to incoherent flailing

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remedialmassage · 8 years ago

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The A-to-Z Guide to Yoga Cues

With so many teaching styles, it can be tough to know which cues to listen to and which ones to ignore. Enter this guide: an incomplete roundup of the good, the bad, and the just plain funny.

A: Adduct and abduct

You probably hear these words all  the time, yet it can be tough to differentiate them from one another. Annie Carpenter, a senior yoga teacher and creator of SmartFLOW yoga, has a trick for remembering which is which: “When I hear adduction, I think of adding in,” she says. Adduction refers to movements in toward the midline of the body—for example, wrapping your arms in Garudasana (Eagle Pose). Meanwhile, abduction refers to movements away from the midline, such as lifting your arms parallel to the ground in Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II).

B: Bring your biceps in line with your ears

You may hear this cue in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing  Dog Pose), and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with the cue, it can lead to misalignment if not properly explained, says Brooklynite Kathryn Budig, yoga teacher and author of the book Aim True. “Taking your biceps to your ears can cause you to drop your head too low and collapse in your upper back,” she says. “Instead, I prefer to say to my students, ‘Keep your ears in line with your arms.’”

C: Close your eyes

If the only time you shut your eyes in your yoga practice is during seated meditation or Savasana (Corpse Pose), you’re missing out. “Closing your eyes can help you to disconnect from visual stimulation and find more stillness,” says San Francisco–based yoga teacher Laura Burkhart. Senior yoga teacher Giselle Mari adds that closing your eyes in a balance pose, like Vrksasana (Tree Pose), challenges you to use your inner eye to find your center.

D: Draw your shoulders down your back

Alexandria Crow, yoga teacher and founder of Yoga Physics, is on a personal mission to put an end to this common cue. “When your arms go overhead, your shoulder joint itself goes up—that’s the natural movement,” says Crow. “Pulling your shoulders down while your arms are up is not only dysfunctional, it doesn’t fix the problem of people scrunching their shoulders up to their ears, which is the reason this cue took hold in the first place,” she explains.

See also Alignment Cues Decoded: “Draw Your Shoulder Blades Down”

E: Hug your elbows to your sides in Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)

This is one of the most vital cues during Chaturanga, says yoga teacher and Yoga Journal contributing editor Jason Crandell. “It’s essential to pull your elbows into your side ribs while keeping your forearms perpendicular to the floor,” he says. This creates greater stability in the joint where your upper arm bone and shoulder blade connect. Of course, it also requires upper-body strength, so Crandell encourages his students to drop their knees if necessary to offload some weight while maintaining the integrity of the pose.

F: Flower your anus

Admit it: When you first heard this cue (or its cousin, “blossom your buttocks”) you either laughed or cringed. But what exactly does it mean? And why would anyone want to do it? While this cue’s origin is unclear, many teachers suggest it may be an awkward attempt at saying “widen the sit bones” or “relax the glutes.” “I’m like a 4-year-old when I hear this,” says Budig. It makes me laugh every time.”

G: Ground down

Sounds simple enough, yet Noah Mazé, founder of Yogamazé, says grounding down involves more than pressing your feet into the floor. “It’s important to activate your pelvis, hips, and gluteus muscles to create the proper push-down action that firmly grounds the feet,” Mazé says. To do this, try to spread your weight evenly between the inner and outer edges of your feet when standing in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), he says. Adds master instructor David Magone: “Allowing your body to settle into the ground allows your skeleton to hold some of your weight, so your muscles don’t have to work as hard.”

H: Square your hips

Despite decades of teachers telling their students to square their hips to the front of the room when twisting, Magone says hips don’t actually need to be squared. In fact, the motion creates torque, he says, which weakens the space between the hips and the torso—upping the odds of injury. Instead of trying to stay square, allow your pelvis to rotate in the same direction as your spine, which will allow for a much deeper spinal rotation and reduce the likelihood of lower-back pain.

See also How Yoga Teachers’ Cues Unintentionally Focus on the Negative

I: Inner rotation

In yoga, sometimes you have  to draw in in order to move  up. Carpenter says Urdhva  Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose) is a good example: Practitioners often push their groins up because it makes them feel like they are getting higher, but this can cause the glutes to grip, forcing the sacrum up and putting pressure on the lumbar spine. “ For any backbend, you may have to engage your glutes to get off the floor, but then it’s helpful to turn your internal rotators on and let your glutes go. This allows you to soften your groins and lengthen your iliopsoas and lower back,” she says.

J: Jumpback

What does it take to master the pickup-jumpback to Chaturanga Dandasana? Practicing Lolasana (Pendant Pose), says Crow, which trains key muscles for the movement: Stand on your shins, each hand on a block outside of each shin. Press your palms firmly into the blocks and straighten your elbows. Round your back, pull your navel toward your spine, and bring your thighs up to your chest.

K: Kick up into handstand

It may be tempting, but don’t do this—especially if you’re in a crowded class: Kicking up into inversions can harm both your practice and those around you if you topple over. “When you kick into an inversion like Handstand, you’re using momentum rather than control, whereas you should be focusing on moving with precision,” says Crow. What’s more, kicking reinforces the notion that the final posture is more important than the steps it takes to get there. To build patience and precision when practicing Handstand, Crow recommends starting with your hands a few feet from the wall and walking your legs up the wall so your torso and legs make an L shape. When you’re ready, move away from the wall, and place your hands on the floor. Raise and extend one leg, then use your standing leg to lightly bounce (not kick) up. This will allow for more control and muscle engagement, enabling you to work up the strength to do Handstand in the middle of the room.

L: Lengthen the sides of your body

This cue creates spinal elongation—both while you practice and when you’re off the mat, says Crandell. To lengthen the sides of your body in poses where this can be challenging—such as in Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose) and Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)—imagine you’re stretching from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head, which will lengthen your torso on either side, says Crandell.

M: Microbend the knee

Though this cue can be somewhat controversial (how micro is the bend, after all?), Amy Ippoliti, co-founder of 90 Monkeys, an online resource center for yoga teachers, suggests thinking of it this way: “You are trying to ever-so-slightly soften and bend your knee, and at the same time, putting some effort into straightening your leg,” she says. This cue is especially relevant for those who have a tendency to hyperextend (over-straighten) their knees, which can cause unnecessary wear and tear over time. “Creating these two opposing actions in your knee brings balanced strength to all the intricate muscles of your lower leg,” Ippoliti says.

N: Neutral spine

Maintaining a “neutral spine”—or  “the natural curves of the spine,” as many teachers describe it—is a cue that’s universally embraced. “It is important because it optimally distributes force among the intervertebral discs, which act as shock absorbers,” says Mazé. When your spine is out of its natural alignment, excessive force can become concentrated in one area, which can lead to injuries such as bulging or ruptured discs. However, keep in mind that in some poses (like forward and backward bends) you want the spine to come out of neutral in order to flex and extend. “In a balanced yoga practice, you are moving your spine in every direction,” says Mazé.

O: Open your heart

As countless power ballads have told us, the heart is a complex thing. Crow agrees, explaining that the cue “open your heart” carries multiple meanings in a yoga class. On a physical level, it can refer to opening your chest or lifting your sternum upward. However, it can also imply that students’ hearts are emotionally closed off—an implication that can be hurtful. The consensus? This cue doesn’t resonate with everyone. Use it (or follow it) only if it feels right to you.

P: Pretend you're between two panes of glass

Most teachers have stopped using this phrase when cueing Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose) in recent years. But if you still hear it, ignore it, says Ippoliti. “It prompts students to externally rotate both legs, which means the femur (thigh bone) heads will not be fully seated in the hip joints,” she says. “This can limit range of motion and flatten the lumbar curve.” Instead, when you come into the pose, move your thighs and butt back so your femurs sit into your hip joints, then draw  your front buttock under to externally rotate your front leg and spin your chest up into the pose. According to Ippoliti, “this is the safest way to get  the opening most practitioners seek in this pose.”

Q: Activate your quadratus lumborum

Gary Kraftsow, founder and director of the American Viniyoga Institute, says the quadratus lumborum (QL)—which connects the spine to the pelvis—doesn’t get the attention it deserves. When your back muscles are weak, the QL picks up the slack, which can cause it to contract excessively and become fatigued.  To activate and strengthen this muscle, Kraftsow recommends practicing a variation of Janu Sirsasana (Head- of-the-Knee Pose): With your left  leg extended straight and your right leg folded in, twist your shoulders to the right and lower your left shoulder to your left knee, then take your right arm up and over toward your left foot. Hold for 5–10 deep breaths, then switch sides. Hello, QL.

R: Release

In the quest for perfect yoga poses, we often sharpen our focus on performing the pose, rather than releasing or dropping into it. However, Tias Little, founder of Prajna Yoga in Santa Fe, New Mexico, says reminding students to release helps them deeply relax the body. “Because people tend to carry stress in the  jaw, mouth, and other areas of the face, I like to use  cues around releasing cranial structures, like ‘Drop into Savasana of the tongue,’” says Little.

S: Subtle body

The phrase “subtle body” is often used to describe the idea of weaving together yoga wisdom and physiological function. It helps people open to a state of inquiry and discovery, shifting focus from an outward performance of a pose to an inward exploration, says Little. “It’s all about observing sensation in the body: the movement of the fascia and pulsation of blood moving through the veins,” he says. “That kind of attunement in each pose is what makes yoga a moving meditation.”

T: Tuck your tailbone

Here’s a cue many teachers are steering clear of these days, because a majority of students overtuck, says Budig. “Tucking your tailbone can create more length in your spine—but when you take this action too far, you flatten the natural curve in your low back,” she says. Instead, she tells her students to “release the tailbone as you simultaneously draw your lower belly up”—dual actions that prevent practitioners from overdoing it on  the tuck.

See also Yoga Anatomy: Prevent Low Back Pain in Twists

U: Use your props

If Mari had her way, every student would be issued a standard blanket, block, and strap upon walking into a yoga studio. “Sometimes a block is exactly what you need,” she says, noting that cues that call for props are not just for beginners—they can also help experienced students discover a pose in a different way. Budig agrees, adding that “props  can help yogis learn  what it feels like to have power and strength in a pose as opposed to collapsing in it.”

V: Visualization

Cues that prompt you to visualize help you  to connect to the  pulsatory rhythms of a pose, known as the nadis, instead of simply trying to get the mechanics of it right. “Visualization directs people to the sensory experience,” says Little. “Imagery helps me perceive my body as an energetic field, where the elements of wind, rivers, fire, and moonlight are expressed, rather than simply as a collection of muscles, bones, and flesh.”

W: Go to the the wall

Walls are often an overlooked asset for deepening your practice—and they can be especially great for beginners, says Carpenter. For example, Carpenter likes to teach what she calls Puppy Dog Pose to new practitioners as an alternative to Downward-Facing Dog Pose because it requires less upper-body strength than holding the pose on the floor. To try it, start with your hands on the wall at hip-bone height, then walk your hands up and step your feet back into a Down Dog variation with your hands pushing into the wall.

See also 8 Ways (Besides Handstand) to Use a Wall in Your Yoga Practice

X: X-Ray Vision

X-rays help us see things more clearly—a key concept in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, and one that yoga teachers who veer into the philosophical teachings of this ancient practice might explain. “Patanjali points out that in viewing the world, we tend not to see reality clearly, but instead we’re deluded by the error of false perception,” says David Life, co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga. “This confusion about the true relationship between the act of seeing, the object seen, and the identity of the Seer, is the root cause of suffering.” The cure? Using a kind of x-ray vision comprised of viveka (discrimination between “real view” and “unreal, apparent view”) and vairagya (detachment from a mistaken identification).

Y: Focus on you

Yogis are often urged not to compare themselves to others in the room—a tall order both on the mat and off. Yet Kraftsow says one way to embody this important cue is to remember that true yoga is not about doing a series of poses but rather learning more about yourself. “You use each posture as a tool to understand what’s going on in your body,” he says. “Asana is a means to come to a deeper understanding of self.”

Z: Zip up through the midline

Engaging your midline is key to turning on your all-important core muscles, which do everything from promoting better balance to helping you feel more grounded and connected to yourself. This zip-up cue makes it easier by signaling you to tap into the energy that resides in your sushumna nadi—the hub that runs along your spine, around which the entire energetic system is organized, says Magone. He likes to use this cue when teaching backbends: “Pulling the abdominals gently inward and upward in a backbend increases your range of motion because it creates a deeper stretch in the rectus abdominis muscles.”

See also Alignment Cues Decoded: “Wrist Creases Parallel”

from Yoga Journal http://ift.tt/2smMJs9

#Yoga Journal

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lindafrancois · 6 years ago

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How to Do a Handstand: Get Your First Handstand in 30 Days

A handstand is one of the coolest exercises ever, but it’s also one of the most advanced moves to learn.

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.

Today you start your journey to the Upside-Down!

Ah, not that Upside-Down…we’ll keep you in this dimension.

We’ve helped many of our coaching clients achieve their first handstand and today we’ll share with you how it’s done with this guide!

Have your Nerd Fitness Coach help you get your first handstand, step-by-step! Learn more here.

We’ll treat it like a video game, progressing you from complete noob to Level 6: Handstand Master.

We’ll go over the following (click to flip to that section):

Are handstands good for you?

Do handstands build muscle?

The secret to performing a handstand.

Handstand Progression Warm-Up Routine (DON’T SKIP)

Level 1 Handstand Progression: Quadruped Rocking

Level 2 Handstand Progression: Hollow Body

Level 3 Handstand Progression: Crow Pose

Level 4 Handstand Progression: Wall Walk

Level 5 Handstand Progression: How to Bail out of a Handstand

Level 6 Handstand Progression: How to Do a Handstand

4 Tips and tricks for doing handstands.

The tutorials ahead are from our premium course Nerd Fitness: Handstands, which I would encourage you to check out if you like what you see. It includes even MORE instruction, a skill-tree leveling system, plus exact directions on what to do, for how long, and when to advance.

Alright, brace yourself to get flipped-turned upside down.

Are Handstands Good for You? (3 Reasons Why Handstands Rule)

At Nerd Fitness we LOVE handstands like Eleven loves waffles.

Here are 3 reasons why handstands rule:

#1) Like other bodyweight training, there’s no excuse. If you have room to stand up, you have room to practice handstands.

#2) It recruits DOZENS of muscles in your body.

From arm strength to wrist mobility to core strength to shoulder mobility and muscular endurance, handstands do it all.

When you are trying to balance, it makes your body work as one complete unit.

#3) It scares you – yes, that’s a positive. We grow outside our comfort zone and for many people, just the thought of a handstand is enough to make their palms sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomi…

…nevermind.

The point is that the handstand is just as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical one.

How scared do you think this guy gets on a regular basis?

That’s Coach Jim!

Master of the NF Fitness Universe, and our lead trainer for our Handstands Course and Nerd Fitness Coaching. You’ll be seeing a lot of him in today’s article because Jim can do handstands in his sleep.[1]

The Secret to Performing a Handstand

Sure, we need to build strength to support ourselves upside-down, but even that hurdle is overblown.

A proper handstand actually starts to feel easy.

That’s because once you’re balanced and aligned, it becomes uber efficient. Just as you don’t exert yourself much if you stand straight with good posture, a good efficient handstand is the same way… it will soon start to feel effortless.

Actually, the biggest hurdle to overcome – especially at the beginning – is the mental fear.

The voice/feeling in the back of your head that says “you could get hurt doing this!” SCARY!

And I won’t sugar-coat things, you CAN hurt yourself working on these skills… but it’s no different than if you walked into the gym first day, slapped 315 lbs on the bench press and gave it a go.

Or went out and tried to run 13 miles without training.

The exercise itself isn’t dangerous, unless you attempt TOO much, too quickly.

If you wouldn’t load up a bar to deadlift 500 lbs on your first day in the gym, why do so many people just kick and fling themselves up into a handstand, failing repeatedly, hoping one day they’ll “get” it?

There’s a smarter way!

How do we overcome this fear and keep ourselves safe? Just like learning any other fitness skill: slow, easy, successful steps!

These small victories accumulate over time to bring us to our goals safely while having a lot of fun.

Are you ready to learn?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read on for ways to safely progress to handstand mastery!

Handstand Progression Warm-Up Routine

For any handstand exercise, there is going to be a significant amount of stress on the hands and wrists. So, it’s important you stretch and warm things up.

Here is a video from our NF Handstands course going over some of our favorite wrist stretches to prepare to get upside-down. Go through each stretch about 10 times.

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Let’s spotlight a few of these Handstand Warm-Up exercises:

Forward and Back Wrist Stretch:

Lifted Palms Wrist Stretch:

Reverse Palm Stretch:

Backhand Palm Stretch:

Upside Down Wrist Stretch:

The trick with wrist stretches is to move as many different ways as feels comfortable. Feel free to make the warm-up your own!

The shoulders are another stressed area in the handstand. There are several ways we can prepare them for work

A few rounds of jumping jacks:

Or arm circles

That will get the blood moving and the area ready.

From here, we’ll begin our journey leveling up your Handstand Progression.

We’ll start by having you work with some balance drills and some positional drills.

Nothing too crazy, and in fact some of these might seem TOO EASY. That’s fine! That’s what we want, remember?

We’re using small victories to motivate us. Landing on your head is not a great way to motivate anyone.

Want someone to build you a custom made progression plan for doing your handstand? Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program will do just that, plus your coach can review your movements through our app so you’ll know your training correctly and safely.

Have your Nerd Fitness Coach create a custom plan for achieving handstands!

Level 1 Handstand Progression: Quadruped Rocking

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You may be thinking that feeling the balance of a handstand is going to be brutally difficult.

Not so!

We can start quite easily on our hands and knees in the quadruped position.

From here, we will simply rock forwards and backwards on our hands.

Seem familiar?

If you did the wrist mobility we described above, it’s the same motion!

Isn’t that handy?[2]

As you are rocking back and forth, feel where the weight rests in your hands.

When you rock back, it sits more in the heel of your hands.

When you rock forward, you’ll feel it in your knuckles and fingertips.

Where do we want it in the handstand?

Right around the knuckles.

This is a balanced spot – similar to the balance you find when standing. You don’t sit all your weight on your heels, and you don’t lean all your weight forward, gripping your toes hard into the ground, do you?

Find and feel that balance when you rock.

When should you move on to Level 2 Handstand Progression?

Now would work!

Level 2 Handstand Progression: Hollow Body

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The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. It will help to give your handstand a good shape.

Do you need to master the hollow body to master the handstand?

Not necessarily, as there are plenty of handstands out there that are a bit banana-shaped.

But the hollow body will help you create a more efficient position.

#1) Start by laying down a yoga or exercise mat on the ground and laying on the ground face up.

#2) Think about pressing your lower back down into the ground and engaging your midsection like you’re coughing. You should still be able to breath!

#3) Once the midsection is set, tuck your knees to your chest and hold your shins like you’re getting ready for a wicked cannonball.

#4) Holding the shins will help you maintain that lower back and midsection position.

Still feeling good?

Then try rocking!

Rock your body forward and back slightly from the upper back to the lower back, like a rocking chair.

Head and feet stay off the ground.

If you are stable then you should move as one unit.

If you need more of a challenge, reach your arms by your ears, keep the knees tucked, and rock some more.

Without the hands holding the shins, the midsection really has to keep engaged in order to give you a smooth rock.

With any of these positions, work to rock for a full 15 seconds under control.

Once you can do so with arms extended, progress up to Level 3.

Level 3 Handstand Progression: Crow Pose

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To enter Crow Pose, move forward from the Quadruped Rock position so that your knees are on the outside of your arms. You can even bend the elbows a little and rest your legs on them.

Rock forward in the same manner as before, putting a little more weight on the hands and a little less weight on the feet.

Important: this isn’t Assassin’s Creed… We are not making a leap of faith here!

Don’t jump!!!

We are simply looking for less and less weight on the feet.

Take things slow and easy – rising up on the toes when you can. When you are ready to pick the feet up and hold yourself off the ground on just your hands, it should come naturally.

Be sure to grab into the ground hard to hold and control yourself, and feel free to put down a pile of pillows or mats in front of you if you should fall!

Once you’re able to get both feet off the ground comfortably and safely, it’s time for Level 4 Handstand Progression.

If you find yourself stuck at the crow position or any other level, we are here to help!

Our coaches can review your progression and form to help you advance onto the next level!

Have a Nerd Fitness Coach guide your handstand and fitness journey!

Level 4 Handstand Progression: Wall Walk

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In this level, we’ll get started working toward something that actually looks like a handstand!

All we’re trying to do with this exercise is support our bodyweight on our straightened arms (just like the front plank or push-up).

So, the first level of this exercise is to simply get yourself up into the top of a push-up and hold. If that’s too hard, put your hands up on an elevated surface and/or rest on your knees and hands instead.

Once this is mastered, level up by simply lifting your hips in the air into a down dog position!

From here, it’ll be a matter of getting your feet onto a higher and higher surface. Note: putting your feet up something even a few inches off the floor counts – small steps!

You can use something as simple as bumper plates:

As you progress, add more bumper plates (or whatever you’re using) so your feet are higher and higher.

Once you are supporting yourself with your feet on a high box, try walking your feet up the wall. (Think of it like a really tall box!)

Be careful at this step: Be sure you have enough energy to walk back down safely and second, that you don’t walk too close to the wall and risk flipping onto your back!

See the next section on pirouettes to safely exit these wall walks if you happen to “go over!”

With each of these variations, we’re looking to build up to a solid 15 seconds under control before moving forward.

Once you’re at the point of lying vertically against the wall, you’re on your way to leveling up to a full handstand!

But first, we need to talk about how to bail safely.

Level 5 Handstand Progression: How to Bail out of a Handstand

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As you start to get better with Wall Walks, and you practice getting closer and closer to completely vertical while upside down, there’s going to be instances where you start to “tip over.”

In order to safely return your feet to the ground, you’re going to want to do what we call a pirouette:

How to bail out of a handstand:

Get into a wall handstand.

Shift your weight to one arm (the planted arm), allowing the other arm to move.

Drive one leg into the wall (the one that’s on the same side as the planted arm), and lean the opposite leg forward.

Gravity pulls you around, and lets you lower your feet to the floor safely.

This is one of the most important skills you can learn as you develop your handstand practice, as it will allow you to safely exit any handstand without any risk of injury as you develop your balance!

Once you feel comfortable bailing out of a handstand, my dear rebel, it is time for Level 6!

Level 6 Handstand Progression: How to Do a Handstand

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We are now ready for you to try a handstand!

It’s going to come down to you slowly but surely leaving the safety of the wall.

First, just try to take one leg off the wall during your wall walk:

When you’re comfortable taking one leg off, trying switching them!

The objective is now is to switch your legs in a slow, smooth manner – one lifts off the wall while the other simultaneously moves back to the wall.

Once you get comfortable with this, it’s time to take both legs off the wall!

BOOM! Your first handstand!

Are you doing it right?

A good way to tell would be to record your handstand practice and review it against the videos here to check your form.

Want to have an expert review your form? Check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! Our spiffy mobile app lets you send video of your handstand directly to your coach, who will provide feedback so you can perfect your technique.

They’ll also build a workout program that’s custom to your situation, which will have you doing handstands like Luke Skywalker in no time!

Have your Nerd Fitness Coach build you a handstands workout and check your form! Click here to learn more!

4 Tips and Tricks for Doing Handstands

Nothing beats patience and hard work, but there are a few tips and tricks we can provide that will allow you the best chance for success.

#1) Make sure you go through a proper warm-up: We’ve given you several options for the wrists and shoulders. Not only will a warm-up help prevent injury, but it will get the muscles and joints properly prepared to get the most out of your training.

#2) Prioritize Your Handstand: You can work the skill on its own time, and it won’t interfere or be interfered by anything else, but what if you’re doing other exercises during your workout?

When do you handstand, when you’re training in a swamp?

The best time to work the balancing drills (like your wall walk) is at the beginning of your workout, after you’ve warmed up.

These skills require concentration and a fresh focus to really benefit and progress with them.

Trying to balance after you’ve exhausted yourself with a tough cardio session is an exercise in futility (pun intended).

The best time to work the positional drills (like your quadruped rock) would be sometime during your strength session, and before your cardio.

These drills are not as dependent on completely fresh muscles, but we still don’t want to try and hold ourselves upside-down after a grueling workout.

#3) Don’t do too much, too soon.

We’ve mentioned this a million times because it’s so important. Taking on too much too soon is a way to develop bad habits and possibly injure yourself.

Take your time! Enjoy and really master each step!

#4) Take it Easy: In the same vein, we want to look for success.

What do I usually see when people practice handstands: Someone kicking up 100 times and kinda getting a handstand once or twice. How much sense does that make?

While we might not be batting 1,000 with all our attempts, but we should be looking to successfully complete around 8 out of 10 attempts. If we’re not? Then we might have taken on too much, too soon!

Let’s wrap up this guide and give you some next steps for your handstand practice.

The 5-Minute Rule: Practice Handstands Every Day and Be Amazed at What Happens

Commit to 5 minutes a day. That’s it. But do it every day.

I’ll see a lot of people go all in for a single handstand session, and then not touch the skill for a week or more.

Dan Gable once said, “If it’s important, do it every day.”

Now this is a simplification, but with handstands, this is ESPECIALLY important.

When you first start out, your arms and shoulder may only be able to do 5 minutes before they are DONE.

Doing them for a short time each day is the best strategy to improve strength, endurance, and balance.

Want help progressing with handstands from here? I’ve got 3 great options for you!

#1) Our course NF Handstands includes more instruction, a skill-tree leveling system, and exact directions on what to do, for how long, and when to advance.

Learn more about the NF Rings and Handstands Superpack!

#2) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to complete handstands, get stronger, and even eat better, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

#3) Join The Rebellion! We have a free email newsletter that we send out twice per week, full of tips and tricks to help you get strong, get healthy, and have fun doing so.

I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can use to start leveling up your life too:

Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit

The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.

Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.

Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.

Alright, your turn:

Have you ever tried to kick up into a handstand?

What’s the one thing holding you back?

What questions can I answer?

-Steve

PS: One day I’ll be able to type articles like this while doing a handstand.

Jim, our lead trainer for Nerd Fitness Coaching, makes it look so easy:

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Photo sources:[3]

Footnotes ( returns to text)

Probably.

Zing!

Handstand desert, egg and hammer, handstand sunset

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