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Marion Michele

If you ever want to do a handstand, you'll have to get over the fear of falling. That means starting by lying on the floor and practising a few drills to get confident with your technique, says Andralyn Zayn, a coach at Deflying Fitness, a company in Toronto that teaches circus fitness training, including handstand workshops.

While lying flat on your back, go from a handstand position into a tuck, knees pulled up to your chest, then from a handstand position to a straddle, legs kicked out wide, and then from a handstand position into a pike, legs together and bent toward your torso.

From there, stand on your hands with your stomach facing a wall. Make sure your hands are shoulder width apart. You want your body to form a straight line, with bone stacked on bone, Zayn says.

"One big mistake beginners make is putting their hands too wide," she says.

Always keep your eyes on your hands.

"As long as you're looking at your hands, then your body will react like a cat does and your feet will go to the floor," Zayn says.

Once you're able to attempt a handstand away from the wall, looking away from your hands is probably going to topple you, and it's not going to be pretty.

"If you look away from your hands, that's when you can fall onto your back and get the wind knocked out of you," Zayn says.

If you put in 10 hours a week of practice, it could take three months before you'll be able to hold a handstand away from the wall consistently, she says.

But once you can, you're bound to be a social-media star, at least among your friends.

"Everybody wants them for Instagram," Zayn says.

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