Live upside down for a moment.
Remember when you were a kid and you loved being upside down? You liked to play "tick-tock-I'm a clock" while your mom, dad, or older sibling hung you upside down by your ankles. Well, those days aren't gone. Inversion poses or inverted positions are still in! Not only that, but they are good for you. Basically, inverted poses are positions where your head is below your heart. Some examples of inverted poses include a hand stand, head stand, plow pose, standing forward bend/fold, downward dog, legs up on the wall, and happy baby pose.
So, why is it that we should do this more often? Well, for one, it brings more oxygen to the brain. Now, I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a great reason to do these for a few minutes a day.
Here are a few other reasons:
1. It helps with balance.
2. It builds self-confidence.
3. It gives you a different perspective of the world. Check out life upside down for a few moments. Notice the sky or the trees. Take a moment and breath.
4. It shifts your organs and gives them a bit of different space for a moment.
5. It helps the spine and disks between the spine. Did you know that we can potentially shrink as we age, because our disks get smashed and withered away? We need to give them a break more often. Inverted poses will help with this.
6. It strengthens the core muscles. When we move up and down into our inverted poses, we are engaging these core muscles even more.
7. It improves circulation! Again, our hearts, brains, and lungs are going to thrive when we get into inverted positions. Blood flows throughout our body, and the more oxygen we send to our cells throughout the body, the better we feel and the healthier we are.
Alright, so now what? Get into a few positions every day...even if it's only for 5 minutes...and enjoy. You could even try meditating in an inverted position. Give it a shot. If anything, it will give you a boost of energy in a healthy, free way.