Inversions: Flipping Perspective To Deepen Our Yoga Practice

Written by LJ

As spring blooms around us, we invite you to take an (upside down!) look into the realm of inversions! Inversions and their many benefits to our blossoming yoga practice can shape how we view the world – literally and figuratively. We know… what exactly does it even mean to invert your practice? And how the funk can going upside down be so beneficial? 

Inversions are any pose in a Yoga Asana that places your heart above your head, or your hips above your heart, or both. This shift in blood flow is called venous return, or the amount of blood the heart receives, which can offer a bit of support in allowing the heart to slow down. Think, a resting pause of a Downward Dog in the middle of a Power Flow.

Often, we see inversions as a daunting challenge into the world of headstands, forearm stands, and the like. Wonderfully, though, inversions range from restful postures like Legs Up the Wall to more activating strengtheners like arm balances.

Fun fact: Legs Up the Wall in Sanskrit, the original language of yoga, is Viparita Karini. Viparita, meaning reversed, and Karini, meaning to do or the action of reversing; which can mean simply resting, reversing blood flow, and calming the nervous system instead of stimulating it. 

So back to the question, why the Funk is it so beneficial? When we consider the build of our bodies, our legs and feet are designed specifically to bear the weight of our bodies, whereas, our hands and forearms usually bring things to us and work in smaller loads. Giving our upper half the opportunity to hold our body can offer lots of new activation, and increase strength and stability in our core, arm, back, and shoulder muscle groups. By lowering our heads below our hearts, our Circulatory System benefits not only from Venous Return, but also in increase blood and oxygen to the brain, which has been said to aid in concentration (headstand study date, anyone?) In conjunction, we see the Lymphatic System (all the good fluids in our bodies!) reduce swelling and inflammation. Moreover, the challenge of balancing upside down enhances proprioception, the body’s awareness of its position in space, improving coordination and balance over time. 

Beyond the physicality of inversions, flipping our perspective is mentally and emotionally powerful to our yoga practice. The meditative quality of a simple posture, like legs up the wall (Viparita Karini) is a beautiful grounding practice, allowing us to slow down and take ease. Inversions invite us to tune into the subtle sensations of our body and breath, this stillness and internal focus is amazingly calming to our nervous system and cultivates, not only mindfulness but also, self-awareness. Building up to more demanding postures, like headstands (Shirshasana), can teach us to approach challenges with grace, patience, and of course, practice.  

You may recall that one of our studios annual themes is Sadhana, or a devoted practice. Sadhana is not about pushing ourselves to the limits or striving for perfection. Instead, it’s about embracing a gentle, nurturing approach to our practice—one that honors our unique journey and supports our growth along the way. Just as inversions require consistent practice and dedication to progress, Sadhana invites us to show up on the mat day after day, cultivating inner transformation and growth.  

Incorporating inversions into your yoga practice can be a game-changer, offering a myriad of physical, mental, and emotional benefits. As we embrace the Funky Focus on inversions and dive deeper into our yearly Sadhana, we invite you to approach your practice with curiosity, courage, and commitment. Whether you’re gracefully flowing into downward dog or playfully exploring handstands, remember that every journey begins with a single breath. So, roll out your mat, embrace the challenge, and let the magic of inversions elevate your yoga practice to new heights. 

Here are a few resources to support this Funky Focus!

Health Benefits of Yoga Inversions

Downward Dog Support for Larger Bodies

Making Inversions Accessible

We invite you to join us in this month’s workshop to deepen your practice!

The 8-Fold Path: Walking Your Path with Balance

Written by Larissa

We’ve been working with the 4 Noble Truths in our meditation practice for the past month; the last Noble Truth is that there is an end to suffering. That end, or rather, the ease of suffering we experience is offered by walking The 8-Fold Noble Path, which we’ll learn about throughout this month of May.  

In Buddhist philosophy, there is an idea that if we end up off the 8-Fold Noble Path, we land in either rigidity or chaos. These far ends cause us much more suffering than is necessary. They make dealing with emotions, decision-making, and being human much more difficult. Neither black and white rules nor complete lack of order can offer us the support we need, which is why the 8-fold Noble Path is offered, to navigate us back toward our path.  

Each human has their own path to follow; there is no one “right” path, and no one else knows what’s best for you like you do. When I first realized this, I was disheartened because I want allllll the self-help authors to give me the 10 steps to happiness/success/fulfillment/any-thing-to-make-me-feel-better! If the “4 Steps to a Happier You” worked every time, we would never need even one additional blog or book about it. This doesn’t mean that you cannot take advice from a trusted source, or that you shouldn’t read/listen to the amazing wealth of knowledge and resources out there; you might instead consider these as guides, rather than rules or hard truths. Walking this Path is all about learning what you need. 

Your path, although connected to all others, is specifically for you. It requires paying attention to your particular needs, desires, hopes, rest requirements, gifts, and tools you’ve learned along the way.

We’ll break down the 8-Fold Path into 3 parts, encompassing all eight concepts. Wonderfully, the Path isn’t a series of numbered steps to take, we can practice these actions simultaneously and in the ways that support us best, for that moment, that space. The tools the Path offers us looks like this: 

Part 1: Wise Wisdom; Wise Understanding or View, Thought or Aspiration, and Speech 

Part 2: Wise Ethical Living; Wise Action, and Livelihood 

Part 3: Wise Concentration; Wise Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration 

There are so many nuances, joyful practices, and gentle learnings packed into The Path; as you are walking yours, we invite you to practice with us, so we can share our Paths. We’ll walk through the weeds and the dark nights, and through the sunshine and spring flowers, together. 

If you’d like to dive deeper, we invite you to join us in-studio for our monthly meditation circle and check out these resources:

The Four Noble Truths by Thich Nhat Hanh

Explanation of the 8-Fold Path with Sharon Salzburg (Article and Podcast)

Walking the Eightfold Path with Koshin Paley Ellison & Sharon Salzberg – Metta Hour Podcast Ep. 201

Check out our Youtube for an overview of these concepts or a meditation practice to try them on <3

As always, we hope that you join us M-F at 7:30am for Funky Buddha Yoga’s free, live, virtual meditation to learn about your own path, and how to support yourself in this journey of being human <3