10 Reasons Why You Should Try Yoga Inversions

Yoga inversions are a kind of yoga pose that your body is turned upside down with your head below, inverted either by your heart and hips or by your heart and legs. Basic inversion poses including downward facing dog pose, plow pose, dolphin pose and else. Advanced yoga inversions including headstand, shoulder – stand, standing split, crow pose and etc.

On one hand, inverted poses are often considered to be too challenging and out of reach by many yoga practitioners. It is a fact that doing yoga inversions do require a bit of arm strength and balance, still there are nothing to be scared of and can really be a lot of fun! On the other hand, many people shy away from inversions because they seem useless. Some hold the opinion that yoga inversion poses look awesome and that is all, they do not deserve devoting any time or efforts.

The truth is, scientifically, yoga inversions have been proven to be quite advantageous for our cardiovascular, lymphatic, endocrine and nervous systems. Yoga inversion poses are actually a great way to release tension and improve circulation. Inverted body poses also provide a unique form of play therapy, by shifting your mood and giving you a new perspective on things. 

Without further delay, here are 10 compelling reasons why these upside-down yoga inversion poses worth a try.

1. Improve core strength

Practice yoga inversions helps to improve core strength a lot. Your core muscles are essential for stabilizing your body during inversion poses. These school of muscles help you maintain a strong and stable base which is crucial to mastering inversions.  

2. Increase circulation

While doing yoga inversions, the same reversed wave of fresh blood and oxygen helps increase circulation and lubrication of your hips, deliver oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, and remove waste products.

3. Boost function of immunity system

When you’re upside down, your lymphatic system are boosted to drain more effectively, and in this way allowing your body to detoxify and cleanse itself more efficiently. What is more, inverted body helps to increase blood flow to your lymph nodes. This helps your immune system to function more effectively, making it better able to fight off infection and disease.

4. Improve balance

Once you get to balancing on one or two legs, it is coming next to finding balance on hands and head.

5. Reduce anxiety and stress

Whether it’s a headstand, handstand, supported shoulder stand, or simply legs up against the wall, inverted body can help to calm your mind. Yoga inversions help release tension from the spine and lengthen the muscles in the back and shoulders, and body release in turn promotes mind relaxation.

6. Get better sleep

Yoga inversions are a great way to get better rest. When you invert your body before go to bed, it helps to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to promote relaxation of your body. You are likely to feel more relaxed and your body will be better able to fall asleep. Plus thanks to inversions that helps to improve blood circulation and reduce stress levels, you’ll feel refreshed and rejuvenated the next morning.

7. Build confidence

Inversions can be intimidating for anyone and require considerable self belief and perseverance. As you practice inversion poses your ability will improve, which boosting your confidence as you overcome self doubts in the process, once we managed to overcome self doubt, things like that upcoming job interview suddenly don’t seem so daunting.

8. Help to increase flexibility

Here is why yoga inversions help increase flexibility. By holding your body in unusual stretched inverted positions that target different muscle groups, inversions will expand your range of motion and increase limb and muscle flexibility.  

9. Give you a new perspective on everything

As we have became more accustomed to reacting to the world in a predictable way, get yourself upside down inspiring us to explore another way to approach the situation / person / problem through an inverted perspective view.

10. Have fun while doing yoga inversions

One can not deny the fact that inversions are fun and joyful. Inversions reintroduce us to our inner mind and remind every player that yoga is not only a contemplative endeavor in many ways, but yoga practice is also a playful and lighthearted journey.