Dec 17

Dec 17 Calm, Restore, Strengthen and Play: The Power of Inversion Postures

Hi, I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

How much time do you spend each day with your feet above your head?

What? Yes, you heard me correctly! We spend most of our day sitting or standing with our feet below our hearts and heads. We spend 6 to 8 hours each night sleeping with our feet level to our heads.

However, how much time do you spend each day with your feet above your head and your heart?

Well, I spend about 23 minutes with my feet over my head each day. How do I do that? Why do I bother, and why should you consider doing it as well? Short answer because inversion postures are powerful. They calm, restore, strengthen, and are a heck of a lot of fun.

Every morning I conclude my short morning workout with 3 minutes in a headstand and I spend my 20-minute afternoon meditation in a modified version of viparita karani or legs up the wall pose. I lie on the floor with my legs resting on the seat of my sofa.

According to the Yoga Journal, the benefits of an arm balance posture like a headstand are:

· Activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the brain and helps relieve stress, anxiety, and mild depression.

· Stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands. It strengthens the arms, legs, spine, and lungs.

· Tones the abdominal muscles and organs.

· Improves digestion.

· Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause.

· Is therapeutic for asthma, insomnia, and sinusitis.

· Arm balance postures are excellent for lymphatic drainage, which strengthens the immune system. Something we are all concerned with right now as we strive to maintain our health during Covid.

As a wellness coach who takes pride in "walking my talk," I appreciate that while I’m in my headstand, I’m strengthening my body and immune system while calming and centering my mind.

That said, I mainly look forward to those three minutes each morning, not so much for the beforementioned benefits, but for the reason that it makes me feel like, kind of a badass yogi and it’s fun. It’s just plain fun! While in my headstand, I kick one leg forward and then the other, then I bring my legs out to the side. I call those my Cirque de Soleil moves. My morning 3-minute headstand is fun, it feels fantastic, and the kid in me loves it!

It took me many months of baby steps from tripod against the wall to unsupported tripod to headstand against the wall and finally unsupported headstand. Now I’m working on my handstand.

If you have little interest in developing your tripod, headstand, or handstand yet still want the calming therapeutic benefits of putting your legs above your hearts, then never fear; that is what viparita karani is all about.

My afternoon meditation is usually in a modified version of viparita karani or legs-up-the-wall pose where I lie on my back on the floor and drape my legs over the seat of my sofa and you could also use a chair or an ottoman. I use a blanket, an eye pillow, and sometimes a meditation mat or zabuton under my back.

While in the pose, I usually listen to a guided yoga nidra meditation from my go-to mediation app, Insight Timer. Twenty minutes in viparita karani coupled with a yoga nidra guided meditation gives me a sense of rejuvenation more potent than an afternoon nap. Also, it is undoubtedly a healthier energy-boost option than caffeine or a sugary laden snack.

According to the yoga journal viparita karani or my modified legs on the sofa:

· Activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the brain and helps relieve stress, anxiety, insomnia, and mild depression.

· Relieves arthritis, digestive problems, headaches, and migraines.

· Regulates blood pressure.

· Eases respiratory ailments, urinary disorders, varicose veins, premenstrual syndrome, menstrual cramps, and menopause symptoms.

· Relieves tired or cramped legs and feet.

· Gently stretches the hamstrings, front torso, the back of the neck, and relieves mild backache.

I highly recommend spending some time each day with your feet above your head and heart. Try viparita karani or my modified legs on the sofa for calm and restoration. Or try an arm balance posture like my handstand not only to quiet the mind and heal the body but also to strengthen and just for the fun of it! Inversion postures are powerful. They calm, heal, strengthen, and they are a heck of a lot of fun!

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for reading this blog about the power of inversion postures to calm, restore, strengthen your body and add a sense of play to your life. If you have any questions about this blog, about health and wellness, or wellness coaching with me, please reach out via my website at lizmosercoaching.com