Why You Should Stand on Your Head

I never understood why movies and television show the world upside-down when an upside-down person looks at something. Our brains are smarter than that. Our eyes take in what’s in front of us, and our brains turn it around in a way that makes sense.

When I was young, probably around 4 or 5, I learned to stand on my head. Once I learned, I seemed to be standing on my head all the time. I would be in my room, and my mom would come in to check on me. What was I doing? Standing on my head.

Mom didn’t understand what I liked so much about being upside-down. I don’t know any more either. It might have started something, though.

I never did see anything the same way everyone else did. Mom always said I’d miss the forest for the trees. Well, why not? The trees were interesting. There were so many different kinds with so many different leaves. Plus, they do cool things like turn carbon dioxide into oxygen for us to breathe and give birds a place to live. As far as I knew then, all the woods did was give small children in fairy tales a scary place to get lost.

Maybe upside down is the way to be!

My inability to see things quite the same as others helps me with my writing. Currently, my main forms of writing are poetry, short stories, and articles for the newspaper.

In poetry, it’s very beneficial for your vision to be a bit askew. It helps you to be able to think of similes and metaphors that are the building blocks of poetry. I wrote my first poem in fourth grade in a class that was offered in the summer at a local college. It was something about daffodils, but that part isn’t important. The important part is that I had finally found a way to communicate things the way I saw them.

I’m glad I had poetry. I had a considerable amount of teenage angst in junior high. Being able to express myself through my poems. It quite literally helped save me.

I learned to stand back and observe. Observing people has helped me get into their heads. I understand not only how people act in certain situations but why they act that way. Standing on your head is not exactly conducive to conversing, except the inevitable discussion with my mom.

What are you doing?

Standing on my head.

Why are you standing on your head?

Cause I like to.

Four-year-olds tend to be quite matter-of-fact.

I learned to be quiet and watch. I believe that has helped me when it comes to writing different characters in my stories. I feel as if I know the characters in my stories personally. I know that sounds crazy to anyone who isn’t a writer, but the writers understand what I’m saying.

Is standing on your head dangerous?

Mom always cautioned that standing on my head would make all the blood rush to my head. I wasn’t sure why that was a terrible thing. I asked if it would make my head explode. When the answer was no, I shrugged and went back to standing on my head.

I understand it even less now. Blood nourishes your brain, right?

Those who practice yoga swear by it. They believe that standing on your head allows the blood to flow to your brain more easily to nourish it, but it also makes your thoughts more centered.

So, if your children want to stand on their heads, let them! Don’t just allow them to, teach them and encourage them. If you can, stand on your head for a little while too. Don’t worry. Your head won’t explode!

If you enjoyed this post, please show it by clicking the little heart!

If you would like to read more from me, please leave your email!