If you have been to a yoga class, your instructor may ask you to stand on the wall. This restorative yoga pose can be relaxing, although it may seem a bit ridiculous at first. All you have to do is close your eyes and support the weight of your feet against the wall. I have been a yoga instructor for over 20 years and often recommend Legs Up the Wall instead of Sabasana to my students. (You can also meditate with Legs Up the Wall as long as you can relax.)
Legs Up the Wall not only provides tranquility and calm, but also has many health benefits. Continue reading to learn more about this position and how to get the most out of it.
Benefits of Legs-Up-the-Wall
Known in Sanskrit as Viparita Karani. This means “reversing action”, and Legs Up the Wall flips the body from its normal position. In yoga, it is believed that moving the body in a way that is different from the typical pattern benefits the mind and body. Legs Up the Wall is a type of inversion (that is, the body inverts from its normal upright position) and provides a way to enjoy the benefits of yoga inversion without having to take more difficult poses such as handstands and handstands. increase.
When it comes to health benefits, Legs-Up-the-Wall poses offer these physical and mental benefits:
- Relieves pain and muscle fatigue: Our feet, legs, and spine are all structures that support the weight that works to support us, says Meredith Whitte, MS, exercise physiologists and yoga instructors. Reducing the load on these structures (such as lying down or leaning on a wall) allows the corresponding muscles to rest, “reducing fatigue, and pain associated with tissue overload and overwork. May be mitigated, “she says.
- Reduces inflammation in the feet, ankles and legs. Gravity can cause blood and other water to collect on the legs, ankles, and feet, Witte says. You can counter this pull by raising your legs in the Legs-Up-the-Wall pose. “This pulls the water accumulated by gravity from the legs towards the pelvis and torso,” she says, and this pose is suitable for training recovery.
- Increases flexibility behind the legs: The wall passively bends the thighs and knees, extending the hamstrings to the extended position, Witte says.
- Reduce stress: When stressed, the body secretes stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, depending on whether the nervous system fights or escapes, says Whitte. All recovery postures, including exercise, meditation, and legs up the wall, can relieve stress. This particular pose gives you the opportunity to completely relax your muscles, regulate your breathing, and slow down your nervous system. This helps lower stress hormone levels and leaves you feeling calm.
- Relieves headaches: Studies have shown that yoga can relieve tension-type headaches and even migraines, Witte says. This is because stress is often the trigger, and as mentioned earlier, this pose helps relieve stress.
- Relieves dysmenorrhea: Studies show that yoga can significantly reduce the pain of dysmenorrhea. Researchers are still trying to identify physiological reasons, but the general hypothesis is that yoga increases blood flow to the pelvic area with less stress (like strenuous exercise). Witte says. Some yoga traditions advise you not to do this pose or inversion during your period, but it does not harm your body as it goes against the normal flow of menstrual fluid.
- Refresh your feet after sitting or standing for a long time: If you take this pose and stand up, your legs will be refreshed. “After a long time at Legs Up the Wall, the downward gravity disappears, the muscles in the lower body rest, and excess water is drained,” says Witte.
- Help you fall asleep: Witte says that when your body feels comfortable and relaxed, the “rest and digestion” side of the parasympathetic nerves of the nervous system begins to take over and feels calm and ready for rest. Try this yoga sequence for sleep, including Legs-Up-the-Wall poses.
Can climbing the wall and footing after sex help you imagine?
You can’t talk about Legs Up the Wall without dealing with this! There is a myth that after having sex, raising your legs and hips can prevent sperm from coming out and increase the chances of sperm swimming in the egg. However, there is no scientific evidence that this pose helps with pregnancy, says obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Jenny Lowell. Gravity does not affect the progress of sperm into the egg, so there is no need to lean your feet against the wall after sexual intercourse. (The best thing you can do to get pregnant is to have sex a few days before or on the day of ovulation.)
Tips for doing leg-up the wall poses
This pose can be done anywhere there is a wall. You can also lie down on the bed. To pose, sit with one of your hips as close to the wall as possible. Swing your legs up to the wall as you lower your torso to the floor. Use your shoulders to shimmy your butt to the wall. There are many variations of Leg Up the Wall. For example, split your foot into wide straddles, bend your knees, or bring the soles of your feet into contact with the butterfly. You can also support your hips with a folded blanket, pillow, or yoga bolster, or place a small pillow or rolled towel under your head or neck.
If your hips and soles are very tight, this pose may be too uncomfortable to relax. If you can’t take this pose with your straight legs against the wall, but still want to enjoy the benefits, support your lower limbs on a chair, sofa, step, or a pile of blankets or pillows and stretch your knees. .. It’s bent, but my legs are still supported.
No matter which variation of Legs Up the Wall you choose, close your eyes and place your arms in the T position, heart, or belly. It can be anywhere that can completely blend into the floor. Focus on feeling the ribs stretch and contract with each full breath. Stay there for as long as you like and settle for a few minutes in this pose, or up to 20 minutes if you feel good.
