Hi. This is me.

This is me in a nutshell.

Or, more accurately, it’s my reaction to this picture, and to sharing it (SCARY!), that’s me in a nutshell. I think I’m a pretty typical woman in that, if this was a picture of a friend, I would see only strength and awesomeness, and assume that said strength and awesomeness came to her easily because they were destined to be hers.

But because it’s me, I know that I worked, and worked, and practiced, and practiced — against the wall, in the comfort and anonymity of my own home, without telling a soul I was doing it, in case I failed — to get into this pose. I know that I fell a few times in spectacular fashion. I see the wedgie my unstylish PJ bottoms are giving me. The pear shape of my ass. The mosquito bites on my back. The wrinkles in my belly skin. That my hair’s a mess. That my feet aren’t anywhere close to straight, like a diver’s — like my favorite yoga teacher, Henry’s — always are.

But I’m in middle-age now — a time of empowerment. A time to recognize when we’re picking ourselves apart, laugh at our inner critics, and tell them to fuck off. And post the damn picture to empower others to do the same.

I can live upside down when I need to, even if it doesn’t look perfect. That is what actually matters.