Elevate Your Practice: A Guide to Mastering Yoga Inversions
Go head over heels to reap the various benefits of inversions.
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"Head Over Feet" may be the best Alanis Morisette song, a euphemism for falling in love, and an amusement park lover’s favorite orientation. But it’s also the position your body may go into during a wide variety of yoga positions, known as inversions.
In yoga, inversions are any positions or poses that, as their name suggests, invert your body from the upright and standing position it is commonly in, says yoga instructor Kelly Aguilera, lead teacher of Sacred Roots Teacher Training. “They’re any poses where your heart or hips are positioned over your head."
Related: The 10 Best Yoga Leggings For Every Sun Salutation
Most likely, the yoga inversions that come to mind are advanced poses like the headstand and handstand. But inversions also include beginner-friendly poses like standing forward fold, downward-facing dog, and child’s pose, says instructor Rachel Hirsch, the co-founder of Empowered Yoga, a yoga studio in Los Angeles, California. “There are a wider variety of ways to get your heart above your head, including from a standing position, from lying down, or even with your head as your base as you lift your legs," she says.
The best part? No matter which yoga inversion(s) you bring to your yoga mat there are benefits. Read on to learn about the health and wellness benefits of turning your body upside down. Plus, get detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do a combination of beginner-friendly and advanced inversion poses.
Related: The 56 Best Gifts for Yoga Lovers Who Deserve an Elevated Practice
Benefits of Yoga Inversions
No doubt, yoga inversions look cool on social media—but these poses do far more than garner likes and comments. Yoga inversions offer a slew of health and fitness benefits, as well as more emotional and mental ones, says Aguilera. That said, the exact health and fitness benefits will depend on the yoga inversion in question. Let’s get into it.
Enhanced Muscle Relief
Some inversions—like the standing forward fold, for example—offer a gentle stretch throughout your legs, neck, and even your lower back, says Hirsch. This approach to muscle relief can be especially beneficial for individuals who sit all day and have tight, less mobile hamstrings and lower backs, she notes.
Added Strength Gains
Yoga inversions that require balancing on your hands, or on your head with the support of your hands—like the bridge pose, shoulder stand, and handstand—give individuals an opportunity to strengthen their upper-body muscles, as well as midline, says Aguilera.
More specifically, these inversions strengthen your triceps, biceps, shoulders, traps, forearms, and back. Due to a combination of factors like euro-western beauty standards, some people often have under-developed, under-utilized upper body muscles, she says. So, the opportunity that inversions offer to strengthen those muscles is tremendous, she says.
Boosted Brain Health
Inversions also boost brain health by increasing blood flow to the head and brain, says Hirsch. In fact, a 2019 review published in the journal Brain Plasticity found that yoga, in general, is good for brain health.
The researchers determined that a regular yoga practice supports cerebral blood flow and benefits the functioning of parts of the brain like the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. Of course, if you feel a head rush that feels not-so-good, come out of the position and let the blood return to its usual state before continuing with your flow.
Improved Thyroid Health
The brain isn’t the only part of the body that gets a boost of blood flow during inversions, according to Hirsch. “Inversions also boost circulation to the thyroid glands, which in turn can improve thyroid health."
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland located in the neck that helps produce hormones. One of the factors that supports thyroid health is adequate circulation to that gland. By getting upside down, you’re supporting your thyroid gland, which in turn can support hormone health, she says.
The good news? Even if you don’t go upside down during your yoga flow, you’re still doing your thyroid health a solid. Research has shown that yoga can support the recovery of individuals with thyroid dysfunction.
Reduced Stress
According to Hirsch, inversions stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. When this part of the central nervous system is flipped on, the body goes into the rest-and-digest mode, she explains. So, doing these positions can reduce stress as well as calm, relax, and quiet the mind and the deep tissues in your body, she says.
Improved Confidence
Doing inversions can also have an emotional, mental, and even spiritual component, says Aguilera. "Energetically, headstands, shoulder stands, and handstands can help us to feel more energized and confident."
You also will build confidence because of the time needed to master these moves. Many intermediate and advanced-level inversions take months (and even years to master), so when you finally are able to do it, you can't help but feel empowered.
Safety Precautions for Yoga Inversions
There are yoga inversions that are safe for most people regardless of their experience, abilities, and fitness level. But you need to take precautions. Here are three ways to safely turn your whole world upside down.
Chat with a healthcare provider: If you’re unsure whether or not you’re a good candidate for yoga—or more specifically, inverted yoga positions—talk to a healthcare provider. This is especially important if you have any pre-existing health conditions or are pregnant, notes Hirsch. As a general rule, inversion positions are not recommended for individuals who have high or low blood pressure, as going on your head can exacerbate symptoms like lightheadedness, headache, and in extreme cases even cause stroke, she says.
“You should also avoid inversions if you have any chronic neck, back, or joint problem or injury—unless you get explicit consent to do them from your doctor or healthcare provider,” says Annie Landa, Alo Moves yoga instructor.
Meanwhile, if you’re pregnant, yoga is generally considered safe if you have been flowing since before you saw a “+” on the pee stick. Still, as you move through your pregnancy check with your provider about whether or not it’s OK to do certain inversions. “Also, when people are menstruating, they may not like the way inversions make their body feel,” notes Landa.
Find the right scale: Going from no yoga to a headstand would be like going from couch potato to marathoner. In other words, dangerous if not downright impossible. When you are first trying inversions, make sure to pick ones that are within your current abilities, Then, stick with those— or at least, stick to those until your baseline strength and mobility increase. If you’re not sure where to start, try beginner-friendly options like standing forward fold and downward facing dog. (More on these below).
Prepare and practice progressively: Once you know which inversion poses are safe for you to try given your current fitness level and state of wellbeing, you are ready to begin practicing. Still, make sure that the inversion scale isn’t the first thing you do when you get on your mat. (The one exception: Child’s pose). “Inversions are definitely a type of exercise or movement that you need to progressively arrive at,” says Landa. “I do not recommend jumping straight into an inversion without warming up the body first, as this can put a person in danger of an injury."
A proper warm-up will include shoulder activation exercises, some push-up variations, core warm-up movements, and some flow that will get your heart rate going, she says.
Listen to your body: No matter what pose you choose to do, be sure to listen to your body, says Hirsch. “If it doesn't feel good, you shouldn't do it." Discomfort and pain, after all, are the way your body communicates that you’re doing something suboptimal with it. Stop what you are doing and reassess why you may be feeling the way you do. Maybe all you need is a modification, or maybe something else is going on.
Related: The Essential Yoga Poses for Beginners, According to an Instructor
How to Perform Common and Beginner Yoga Inversions
Ready to get your yoga inversion on? Ahead, Aguilera explains how to do four common yoga inversions listed from beginner to the most advanced.
Wide-Leg Forward Fold
The wide-leg forward fold stretches the spine, shoulders, and chest. Here is how to do the wide-leg forward fold.
Stand with your feet about as wide as is comfortable, with your toes pointing straight forward or slightly pigeon-toed.
Rest your hands on the ground as you lower into a forward fold, bending your arms and grabbing opposite elbows above your head.
Reach for your feet, or clasp your hands behind your back.
Keep your heels on the ground, and roll your weight toward the balls of your feet for an extra stretch in your hamstrings.
Downward-Facing Dog
Downward-facing dog stretches help relieve tension from the back and neck. Here is how to do a downward-facing dog.
Begin on all fours on the floor with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
Spread your fingers wide and screw your pinkies into the ground to ignite the lats.
Draw your belly button up toward the spine to engage your core.
Curl your toes under your feet, press into your hands, and lift your knees off the floor.
Raise your hips toward the ceiling, bringing your body into an inverted “V” shape. Keep your arms and legs straight, and your biceps in line with your ears.
Shift your weight onto your feet and lower your heels as close to the floor as possible.
Hold this position, keeping your shoulders drawn away from your ears and your back flat.
Crow Pose
As you work your way up to this position, Aguilera recommends leaning on yoga blocks. “It can be helpful to perch your feet on a block as you learn how to lift your hips higher." Here is how you do the crow pose.
Start in a forward fold, with your feet under your hips.
Plant your palms directly under your shoulders with one foot in front and your fingers pointed forward.
Lean your weight onto your fingertips. Then, bend your elbows slowly, keeping them in line with your shoulders.
One at a time, lift your knees and plant them into the back of the corresponding upper arms.
Lift your feet off the ground and reach your heels toward your bum.
Start to lengthen through your arms and hold the pose as long as you can.
Headstand
The headstand is an advanced-level position, says Aguilera. “Most students should work with a yoga teacher when attempting their first headstands because of the dangers it can present to the cervical spine." An instructor can also help you learn how to safely exit this position for the first few times. Here are the basic instructions on how to do a headstand.
Get down on all fours with your knees directly under your hips.
Release your hands to lower your forearms down to the mat, making sure your shoulders are directly over your elbows.
Thread your fingers of both hands together, and place your upper forehead into your hands.
Push your head down and press your forearms into the ground (this is also known as dolphin pose).
Curl your toes under your feet and straighten your legs.
Keep your forearms pressed down and walk your feet in until your hips are over your shoulders.
Reach one leg up high to the sky. Then, reach the other leg up to meet it.
Hold this position as long as you can.
Come out of the pose one leg at a time and rest in a child's pose.
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How to Add Yoga Inversions to Your Practice
Now that you know all the mental and physical health benefits of inversions, you’re probably ready to start turning your world upside down. Just be sure to consult a healthcare provider before you do so, especially if you have any pre-existing health conditions.
You want to ensure it is safe for you to do these moves. Once you get the green light, consider taking a virtual or in-person yoga class so you can get supervision from an instructor as you learn these new skills.
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