What the Wall Does to Your Nervous System

"Brainy What-Why-How"

Your weekly nibble of science-backed goodness to help you move better and feel unstoppable.

🧠

What:

If you do handstands near a wall, your brain knows it — and without your approval, it decides "Cool, I don't need to try so hard."

Even if you don’t touch the wall, even if you intend to balance independently, the mere possibility of support changes how your body prepares for balance. 

This shows up as sloppier lines, soft shoulders, and that familiar feeling of “why can't I do this in the middle of the room?”

This isn’t a mindset problem.

It’s not laziness.

And it’s not that you’ve “forgotten how to balance.”

It’s *anticipatory* neurology.

Why:

Before you kick up into a handstand, your brain has already made a decision.

Your premotor cortex and supplementary motor area (parts of the brain involved in planning movement) are constantly running predictions like:

  • How precise does this need to be?

  • How dangerous is failure?

  • How much effort is worth spending?

  • What back up plans exist?

So, if a wall is nearby, your brain predicts a lower cost of failure. It then:

  • Prepares less

  • Allows more sway

  • Relies more on last-minute saves instead of early control

  • Uses less "gripping" tone

From a survival and energy-efficiency standpoint, this is excellent design.

From a “learn to handstand away from the wall” standpoint… not so much.

Importantly, this happens before willpower shows up.

You can tell yourself “don’t touch the wall,” but the prediction has already been made. 

The wall isn’t just an object — it’s a promise of rescue.

And a deep-down part of you believes those promises.

How:

How to work with this, instead of letting it sabotage your freestanding handstand:

You don’t fix this by “trying harder.”

You fix it by changing what your nervous system expects.

A few simple ways to do that (without actually leaving the wall)

  • Face away from the wall or stand far enough that you can’t see it. Vision is a huge driver of predictive movement.

  • Decide ahead of time: if you touch the wall, the attempt is over. Consequences sharpen preparation.

  • If you lose your balance, work to do a slow, controlled fall out. When failing is expensive, prevention improves.

  • One kick-up per attempt shifts effort into preparation instead of frantic correction.

  • A soft gaze or 1–2 seconds of closed eyes forces prediction to do more of the work.

The theme here is simple:

change the environment, change the prediction.

When the nervous system stops expecting rescue, it automatically invests more effort before you even kick up.

Which...isn't just true for handstands, is it 😉 

PS: I'm teaching​ in person ​ 
including handstand workshops
where I would love to get you over your dependence on the wall!
Check out where I'll be ​here​.

Practice without a net,

Adell 😘 

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