When the teacher says the word inversion during a yoga class you can see the panic written on many people's faces at the uneasy thought of balancing on their hands or head while upside down. But the truth is that your feet, and a good deal of your body, does not need to leave the floor in order to practice inversions. Seated inversions, as they are called, provide many of the benefits of handstand and headstand, but without the comfort of the floor close by.
About Inversions
Any time your heart is lifted above your head, you are inverted. There are many yoga poses that can accomplish this inversion while still having the support of your body on the floor. Along with strengthening your core and other pose-specific muscles, "Yoga Journal" reports that inversions are particularly beneficial to your cardiovascular, lymphatic, nervous and endocrine systems. Inversions help fresh blood flow through your body, in a similar manner that aerobic exercise does.
Plow Pose
Plow pose is an inversion where you lie on your back, your shoulders and head remaining on the ground, while your torso is perpendicular to the floor and your legs are stretched over your head. The benefits to this pose, according to "Yoga Journal," include calming the brain and stimulating the thyroid gland as well as the organs in the abdominal area. Plow pose may also relieve some of the symptoms of menopause, such as high blood pressure. This pose can also help to stretch your shoulders and your spine while it reduces stress and fatigue and aids infertility, insomnia and sinusitis.
Bridge Pose
In Bridge pose, you lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Raise your pelvis and torso to the ceiling, while your shoulders, head and feet remain on the ground. Bridge pose stretches the entire front of your body while strengthening your back and legs. It also can help to relieve stress, calm the brain and alleviate mild depression, according to "Yoga Journal." Additionally, this pose may be beneficial and therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, anxiety, fatigue, sinusitis, headache, insomnia and backache.
Rabbit Pose
In Rabbit pose, you kneel on your shins and bend forward until your head is on the ground. Reach back and take hold of a foot in each hand and lower your hips until you feel a stretch in your shoulders. Bikram Yoga reports that Rabbit pose has many medicinal advantages, including stretching the neck, shoulders and back, stimulating your thyroid, improving digestion and relieving sinus congestion and colds.
