5 reasons to love inversions

by Hannah Liot, Zuna Yoga 200 hour yoga teacher training student

Inversions are a funny thing. I’ve noticed that I go through a series of emotions when I am asked to do a headstand or handstand in class. 

First emotion: intimidation. Can I do it? Do I feel up for it today? What if I fall over?

Once I am in the position, ready to go, I just surrender to the anticipation and go for it. 

Second emotion: determination. I can do this! I’m so close, look how I high I got my leg! Once you are finally upside down, that illuminating feeling of YES I DID IT takes over. Then you are there, and all you can do is focus on not falling over. 

I’ve come to love inversions and the different emotions that come with them. Yesterday while upside down in class, I had a realization: I didn’t actually know why I was upside down. I know that it's good for me, but I didn’t know what the specifics were behind this supposed goodness. I decided to do some investigating and found some interesting facts on inversions. Whether you are a masterful teacher or a beginner Yogi, these are compelling benefits to think about next time you're upside down. 

Zuna Yogis get inverted

Immune strengthening

The most powerful thing I discovered about inversions is their ability to increase immunity and to detox the body. In particular, inverting affects the lymphatic system, which includes the tonsils, adenoids, spleen, and thymus. The sole purpose of these organs and glands is to fight infections by filtering out bacteria, cancer cells and foreign cells that could be harmful to your body. What is unique about the lymphatic system is that it flows in only one direction – upwards from the stomach to your neck. When you practice inversion asanas, you assist your lymphatic system by helping it flow in the right direction, draining your body of toxins and bacteria.

Circulation 

When the temperature drops, do your fingers and toes ever go numb? This is due to poor blood circulation. Going upside down reverses the blood flow through your whole body and recharges your system. It gives your heart a mini vacation and lets gravity do some work for a change. When you're right side up again, the blood can easily flow to all the little corners of your body, like your fingers and toes. 

Brain Boost 

When your head is lower than your heart, gravity rushes blood and oxygen to your brain. It revitalizes that beautiful organ and improves concentration and memory.

Energy

Specifically, you'll feel peppier if you choose a handstand asana, supported headstand or forearms balance. These types of inversions work your core and arm muscles. They generate a deeper breath and create heat within the body, naturally energizing your system.

Legs up the wall

Relaxation

Asanas such as supported shoulder stand and legs up the wall have a calming effect on the nervous system. They allow your blood to circulate without causing heat. These poses are great after a stressful day or just before bed if you're feeling stimulated and are having a difficult time falling asleep.

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These are just a few ways that inversions help strengthen and soothe the body and mind. Remember, you don't have to master handstand or other advanced (and scary) balancing inversions to get the benefits of these poses. Even down dog, a pose taught in most basic yoga classes, is a wonderful inversion. And legs up the wall pose is accessible even on your worst day. Make getting upside down a regular part of your own practice. Your heart, mind and lymph nodes will thank you.

Small changes can make a big difference

by Anna Rhein, Zuna Yoga 500 hour teacher training graduate

After a long plane ride back to NYC from Bali last week, and being under the weather to boot, I was feeling really unmotivated.  It also didn't help that I left sunshine and 80 degree weather for clouds and 35 degree days. 

Today though, I finally mustered the energy to get bundled up and head out to a yoga class in the neighborhood. I haven't been a student in a class in a few months. Usually, I do my own home practice. However, after a few days, weeks or months off, sometimes I need someone telling me what to do for that extra little kick in the pants. 

Turns out it was just what the doctor ordered. The class was completely different than one I would teach or practice on my own, yet it felt amazing! I walked out with a huge smile on my face and a feeling of gratitude for the teacher that led me through the class. Goes to show that sometimes making the little changes or letting someone else do the leading is the key to starting that fire again. We all have our ways of doing things, patterns and habits that keep us motivated. And that's great, although sometimes we need to let go of that control and see what else is out there. Changing it up can spark so many wonderful new ideas, thoughts and perspectives that get trapped in the body and mind. 

I'm now feeling inspired (even though still freezing) to take as many classes as I can while I'm here for the next two weeks. I hope to inspire some of you to make a change, small or big, and see how it feels. Try something different!

Forget resolutions - remember your yamas

by Katherine Girling, ERYT200/RYT500 Zuna Yoga Staff

The beginning of a New Year is a great time to reflect on what you've learned and accomplished in the previous 12 months, as well as how you want to move forward. Forget New Year's resolutions -- research shows that only 8% of us actually stick to them successfully. Instead, as you take the next steps on your path of personal development -- whether that means a post-holiday cleanse, a new diet, or a commitment to a regular practice -- remember the bigger picture. Learning how to shape your attitudes, thoughts and actions is key to steering yourself skillfully toward your goals.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali outlines the eight limbs of yoga as a path to good living and happiness. Particularly relevant as you move into the New Year are the first and second limbs: the Yamas, focusing on personal morals and restraint, and the Niyamas  -- personal observances. The Yamas and Niyamas are yoga's ten ethical guidelines and are foundational to all classical yogic thought. They are intended as a road map, indicating where you are on your journey and how to spot the next milestone. The Yamas and Niyamas provide a framework to take ownership of your life and direct it towards true fulfillment. 

The Yamas include:

• Ahimsa ~ Non-violence

• Satya ~ Truthfulness

• Asteya ~ Non-stealing

• Brahmacharya ~ Non-sensuality

• Aparigraha ~ Non-possessiveness

The Niyamas include:

• Saucha ~ Purity

• Santosha ~ Contentment

• Tapas ~ Self-discipline

• Svadhyaya ~ Self-study

• Ishvara Pranidhana ~ Surrender

Let's take a closer look: 

Sutra 2.31 Ahimsa satya asteya brahmacharya aparigraha yama

"Non-injury or non-harming (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), abstention from stealing 
(asteya), walking in awareness of the highest reality (brahmacharya), and non-possessiveness or non-grasping with the senses (aparigraha) are the five yamas, or codes of self-regulation or restraint, and are the first of the eight steps of Yoga."

Yamas, the restraints, consist of five principles: non-violence, non-lying, non-stealing, non-sensuality and non-possessiveness. They center on how you relate to to the external world, and in particular, other people. Practicing them helps you become healthy, civilized members of your family and community. They cut down on distractions and reduce the problems you create for yourself by eliminating violence, duplicity, animosity and greed from your life. Consequently, you are not a threat to others, nor are others a threat to you. There is no reason to be fearful, and peace begins to grow.

Sutra 2.32 Shaucha santosha tapah svadhyaya ishvarapranidhana niyamah

"Cleanliness and purity of body and mind (shaucha), an attitude of contentment 
(santosha), ascesis or training of the senses (tapas), self-study and reflection on sacred words (svadhyaya), and an attitude of letting go into one’s source (ishvarapranidhana) are the observances or practices of self-training (niyamas), and are the second rung on the ladder of Yoga."

Niyamas, the observances, also consist of five principles: purity, contentment, self discipline, self study and surrender to God. These five principles open new channels for physical, mental and spiritual nourishment. By purifying your thoughts, speech and action, you prepare yourself to greet the Divine who resides within you. Contentment gives you the freedom from anxiety, which can be an enormous drain on your energy. Self-discipline frees you from laziness, giving you the opportunity to unfold our dormant potential. Self-study allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Self-study also includes study of the scriptures and the repetition of the mantras, observances which deepen your understanding of spirituality and improve your focus. These, in turn, motivate you to look for a higher purpose in life. Self study frees you from attachment to your earlier, immature concepts of spirituality, enabling you to embrace an ever expanding and ever more accurate reality. Surrender to the Divine, the last of the observances, helps you access cosmic forces of energy and aspiration beyond your personal limitations and work with the creative forces of the entire universe. It diminishes ego, and helps you to acknowledge and deepen our connection with the Divine. 

In summary, these ten restraints and observances help you become simple, gentle, humble, disciplined, and kind -- characteristics that are prerequisites for self-transformation. And by embracing them, you are preparing a solid foundation for whatever practices you undertake. Since we generally have not mastered these characteristics and therefore can't practice them perfectly, you can instead incorporate the Yamas and the Niyamas into your philosophy of life and practice them to the best of our ability. Most importantly, they come automatically through the practice of asana, pranayama, and meditation.

These ancient writings, believed to have been created as early as 400 BCE, are still very relevant to our modern lives. They are a practical guide to cultivating confidence, compassion, self-care and happiness. As you move into the New Year and choose your own next steps, remember to make yours a healing journey that is filled with wisdom from the Yamas and Niyamas. 

With gratitude to Swami Jnaeshvara for his excellent compilation of the Yoga Sutras at www.swamij.com