10 Reasons to Get Inverted

Inversions. There’s just so many good things about them that I can’t recommend them enough.

 

If you’re thinking “yeah if only I could do the inversions,” I have good news for you! An inversion is any pose where your heart is higher than your head.

 

So, down dog… that’s considered an inversion. I’m sure you got that one down. (pun intended)

 

Ideally you want to aim for up to 3-5 minutes of inversions every day. Choose your own adventure from the heating poses like down dog, headstand, handstand, or forearm stand to more calming restorative poses like legs-up-the-wall and shoulder stand.

 

Here are 10 good reasons why (incase you were needing that added motivation):

 

RELEASE STRESS

Who doesn’t need this? Our daily lives seem to put us in a position to pick up stress easily. What’s cool about inversions is that you can release your muscle tensions by over 35% in the first 10 seconds. After a long day? Perfect!

 

GET A GOOD DETOX

When you get inverted, the increase in circulation allows your lymphatic system to do a better job. That means you can be sure that it’s eliminating all the waste and toxins your body doesn’t need. Yes!

 

ENERGIZE

If you’re feeling lethargic from spending long hours working in front of your computer get yourself upside down especially with energizing inversions like handstand or headstand. You’ll get a good rush of blood into your brain to perk you up.

 

STAY CALM

If you can perk up with inversions, you can also calm down. When you need to relax, inversions like shoulder stand & legs up the wall calm you down and bring you back into a state of balance.

 

GAIN CONFIDENCE

Most of us have some sort of fear when facing more challenging inversions like handstand. When we face our fears, and start to ‘get it’ then you’re like ‘hell yeah I can do it!’ That rush of confidence – you take that outside of the mat. That always feels good.

 

HAVE FUN

Once we get older we sometimes forget to have fun and enjoy what we’re doing. Truth be told we end up becoming B-O-R-I-N-G. Spice it up some times. Do handstands, fall down, laugh, get back up again. (REPEAT)

 

BUILD CORE STRENGTH

Oh yeah, get that core fired up baby! The more challenging inversions will definitely give you a sense of how to utilize and engage your core strength. That can help with your posture, future injuries and improve your performance in any other sport you enjoy. 

 

KEEP YOUR MIND SHARP

Feed your brain more oxygen and blood and it can improve your memory, concentration and your brain’s capability to function sharply. Some food for thought. Literally.

 

STAY FOCUSED/PRESENT

When we talk about inversions, particularly the more challenging ones like handstand and forearm stand – focus is a must. You can’t be balancing on your hands while thinking about what’s for dinner.

Finding focus in poses like this is such good training for your mind that you’ll find yourself staying present and focused more often even when you’re off the mat.

 

SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Here’s a personal example – when I’ve got writer’s block and ideas don’t seem to be flowing standing on my head usually gives me a fresh look on what I’m working on. It’s amazing, inversions literally and figuratively give you a new perspective.

 

There you go my friends. I hope this is enough reason for you to #getinverted.

Enjoy!