Every time I’m having an uncomfortable stomachache, I find myself wondering what type of movement my body needs in that particular moment. Being a yoga teacher this question often comes to mind but is most important when I’m not feeling well.
I’ve noticed that when my stomach feels off, or I’m having a flare up with my ulcerative colitis I want to literally be turned upside down. The feeling is both mental and physical. I don’t like having a stomachache and wish that the situation could be reversed, so I literally take action with those thoughts and turn myself upside down.
I’ve been practicing yoga for quite some time now and therefore my inversion practice is advanced. The reason I stress this is because not everyone can just get in the middle of their living room and come into their headstand. If that’s something that is doable, please go ahead and try it – I guarantee that turning things upside down in your body will be restorative for your organs and will literally force you to clear your head since you will literally be upside down and there won’t be much else to think about.
I know that when I have a stomachache I stress about it, which really doesn’t help my situation because the main reason that I probably have UC is stress related – so you can imagine that the extra stress of having the ache puts me over the edge. WOAH that was tiring even explaining it!
The two inversions that I would recommend trying would be full headstand and shoulder stand. Feel free to the use the wall for support. See the pictures below to get an example of what I’m talking about.
Headstand (photo sourced from yoga-made-ez.com)
Shoulder stand (photo sourced from yoga-made-ez.com)
Another pose that I enjoy coming into for a nice relaxation is legs up the wall pose. Even though it’s not a full inversion, it’s still reversing the blood flow from your legs, which is also very calming and restorative. Since we are constantly turned right side up, any movement or pose that reverses the flow will be a nice shock for the body.
Legs up the Wall (Sourced from Heidiyoga.co.uk)
If you’d like to try this but just aren’t sure how to get started with it – contact me and we can talk about the steps to get you there. I’m always open to bounce ideas off of.
Have fun with your inversion but remember that if you are pregnant, have neck pain, high or low blood pressure, neck injuries, or are menstruating then you should be taking a modification to these inversions which will still be just as beneficial.
Cheers to a beautiful, new, upside down view!
