A lot of mental and physical benefits can be provided with yoga, but many people look over it as a difficult thing to learn, and they find the yoga positions difficult to preform.
The best way to start is the Viparita Karani.
This pose is also known as the Legs up on the Wall or the Inverted Lake pose. This is one of the best starter poses for yoga, and it is very simple to preform. This pose will relieve you from tightness and pain, also it will provide a lot of relaxation and it has the ability to reduce anxiety as well.
There are a few variations of this pose, and it all depends on your abilities. As you start to work and practice yoga, you will go deeper into the yoga poses and at a certain point you will be preforming one of the most complicated yoga poses.
Version: Legs Straight up on the Wall
Lie on the floor with your butt against the wall, placing your legs straight on the wall and extended all the way up, and they should be apart in hip distance. Place your arms right beside your body, or you can fold them across your chest, the soles should be facing upwards.
Version: Legs in a Wide “V”
It is the same as the other one, but this one only requires you to spread your legs as wider as possible, in order to form a V letter, that way you will stretch the groin area.
Version: Soles Together
Just as the other poses before, but to stretch the groin area even more, you should out the soles of your feet together, while your knees are turned towards the outside. Use your hands to push the knees towards the wall. Be very gentle though, because this is a very intense stretch.
The Advanced Version
Compared to the first pose, this is a far more advanced one, therefore you must be ready for it, and practiced all of the poses above in order to preform this one. While preforming this pose if you feel any pain or discomfort, you should stop right away, which means you are not ready for it.
If this exercised is practiced regularly, it can provide numerous health benefits, here are a few of them listed below:
1. Relieves Lower Back Pain and Improves Hamstring Mobility
This pose has the ability to stretch the hamstrings, which are causing a lot of back pain if we are spending a lot of time sitting in one place, or at our work desks. By stretching them it decreases the pressure on our lower back.
2. Decreases Stress and Provides Relaxation
This pose can relieve from pain and can boost our blood flow as well, therefore our body is relaxed and it is stimulating the parasympathetic nerve system, therefore avoiding the “fight or flight mode”. This pose can also prevent from tension, chronic pain, inflammation and it is improving the quality of our sleep.
3. Reduces Inflammation and Increases Blood Flow
The circulation and blood flow will be boosted throughout the whole body, it can easily fight against inflammation and it has the ability to reduce any swelling in our legs. This pose is very beneficial for women who are in the period of pregnancy.
No matter how beneficial this pose seems, if you are suffering from any back or neck issues, you should highly avoid the preforming of this pose. Unless your doctor or a physiotherapist requires you to preform it, or some certified instructor.
This pose should be avoid during the menstruation too. And since we know it is an inversion, it can lead to some serious eye conditions, such as glaucoma.
We concluded that the pose “Viparita Karani” is a good and simple way to relieve from pain, relax your mind ad body, relieve from stress, and boost your blood flow. Therefore, if you want to get the benefits from it, you must start practicing the exercise regularly.
