Instagram Yogi Reveals 'Effortless' Handstand Photo Took 347 Attempts and a Chiropractor Visit

Instagram yoga influencer Jade Harmony (840,000 followers) posted a photo Tuesday captioned 'Just flowing into my morning handstand. No filter, no effort, just breath and trust.' Behind-the-scenes footage released by her assistant reveals the photo was attempt 347 of a session that lasted three hours, destroyed a ring light, and ended at an urgent care facility. 'Attempt one through fifty were warmups,' said Harmony's assistant, who spoke on condition of anonymity and has since been fired. 'Attempts 51 through 200 were what Jade calls the refinement phase, which I call falling. Attempts 201 through 300 were increasingly desperate. Attempt 301 hit the ring light. Attempt 316 cracked her phone. Attempt 347 was the winner.' The winning photo shows Harmony in a flawless handstand on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, her body perfectly vertical, her expression serene, the sunset casting golden light across her form. What the photo does not show: the two spotters crouching below the frame, the foam crash mat positioned behind the camera, and the Advil she took at attempt 150. 'The caption said no effort,' noted the assistant. 'I was there for all 347 efforts. The effort was significant.' Harmony responded to the footage's release with a follow-up post: 'My practice is my journey. Some days the journey is longer than others. The handstand in the photo was real. The effortlessness was aspirational. Namaste.' The post received 94,000 likes. Yoga teachers have used the incident as a teaching moment. 'Social media yoga isn't yoga,' said instructor Maria Santos. 'Yoga is the eight-limbed path. Instagram is a one-limbed path, and the limb is your phone arm.' Harmony has announced she will be posting a 'real, unedited' yoga video next week. Her assistant — the new one — has been seen purchasing additional crash mats.