Intro to Inversions: or why standing on your head isn’t going to make you a better person. By Harriet McAtee.
When you say ‘inversions’ to most people, it usually conjures images of acrobats doing handstanding feats, or yoga teachers balancing on their heads on the beach. There’s a perception that they’re intense, demanding postures which are out of the realm of possibility for your general yoga student. Further (and perhaps more damagingly), there’s often the idea that you’re not a real/true/authentic/serious yoga practitioner unless you’re cultivating a practice of standing on your head, hands, forearms, or chin for hours a day.
I really couldn’t disagree with this more.
Standing on your head doesn’t make you a serious yoga practitioner, just like meditating for 20 minutes a day doesn’t mean you’re also not a dickhead.
What I’ve found over years of teaching is that many students are put off by inversions because of the perceptions and ideas surrounding them, or through a fear of injury or falling (more on this later).
In my experience, inversions are far more accessible than we might think. Inversions can be a joyful, fun, empowering group of postures to include in your yoga practice, if you want them to be there. Most students, with time and the support of a teacher, are able to build a relationship to inversions that is nourishing and sustainable, whether that means working towards a headstand, or really nailing how you like to be propped in legs-up-the-wall.
In this blog, I’m going to offer a straightforward (and hopefully useful) run down of how to cultivate this empowering and personal approach to inversions. While you won’t find tips for specific postures here (I save those for my in-person workshops), you will find strategies and ideas for building your relationship to inversions in an accessible and approachable way.
What are Inversions?
In short, inversions are any position where the heart is elevated above the head, so anything from a supported bridge pose, through to legs-up-the-wall, to a handstand (Even downward facing dog has an inversion component to it!).
Inversions tend to fall into two categories: restorative and dynamic. Restorative (or cooling) inversions use props to support the body in the posture, so little or no effort is required, and the body can relax and soften. Dynamic (or heating) inversions require muscular effort to come into the posture and remain there, often creating a heating and strengthening effect.
Restorative inversions:
Supported bridge pose
Legs-up-the-wall
Legs-on-the-chair
Dynamic inversions:
Downward facing dog
Headstand & tripod headstand
Forearm stand
Chin stand
Handstand
Shoulderstand*
*Shoulderstand in some yoga traditions is thought of as a cooling/restorative inversion. It really deserves its own blog/book/chapter, as shoulderstand is generally quite a controversial posture. In my experience, it’s best practised with active engagement through the arms, core and posterior chain, hence why I’ve included it with dynamic inversions.
Why do we practice Inversions?
Calming: when we invert the body, we increase blood flow into the head and neck, hence increasing blood pressure. Little receptors in our necks (called baroreceptors) detect this increase in blood pressure and send a message to the brain, which responds by lowering blood pressure, slowing our heart rate and respiration rate. So the relaxed, dreamy feeling we get sometimes after legs-up-the-wall can be as a result of this. Dynamic inversions can also create this effect, but I suspect it is actually often offset by the adrenaline of being upside down.
Strength: Dynamic inversions require strength-building in some key areas in the body, so inversions can be a fun way to work towards strengthening your upper body, core, back and glutes.
Body awareness: Inversions are a great way of challenging your body awareness, or your sense of where your body is in space. You’re literally turning your brain’s map of your body upside-down! Building body awareness is great for the rest of your yoga practice, but also helps to build balance and stability off the mat as well.
Confidence: whether you're enjoying the nourishing, grounding quality of a restorative inversion, or embracing the strength and playfulness of something like a handstand, inversions can be a great way of exploring trust and confidence in your body and your practice.
Play: Inversions, at their best, can be a fun and joyful addition to your yoga practice.
What are some common obstacles?
Strength: Dynamic inversions in particular, do benefit from a degree of strength (particularly in the upper body and core). So if you’re still developing strength in these areas, you might find some inversions like handstands and forearm stands challenging (but then again, most people do regardless of how strong they are!). In general, more strength is actually required on the way into and out of inversions. You’re still using strength once you’re in headstand, for example, but it’s of a more stabilising quality.
Mobility: Despite their reputation for requiring strength, dynamic inversions also benefit from mobility in the shoulders and length in the hamstrings. Think about the space in your chest and shoulders needed to hold your arms straight above your head when you’re the right way up, it’s basically the same when you’re upside down, except your shoulders and arms will also be weight-bearing. A bit of length in your hamstrings also makes it easier (and generally a bit safer) to come into postures like headstand, handstand and forearm stand, where stacking the hips over your head (as much as possible) before your feet leave the ground is ideal.
Fear: Some people (quite reasonably) have a bit of fear around inversions (especially dynamic ones). The first thing to say here is that this is totally normal and understandable. Step back for a moment: intentionally flipping yourself upside-down is a weird thing to do, and your nervous system will likely have a moment of “what is going on?!” Other people may have had difficult or negative experiences with inversions in yoga contexts in the past, and be understandably wary of trying them again. If this is you, then that’s ok! Inversions should feel fun and approachable, so if you’re curious to explore them, find a posture which feels manageable and build your confidence, trust, and tolerance from there. Remember that inversions aren’t going to magically make you a better yoga practitioner (or person), and it’s about finding a way to make these poses work for you.
Blood pressure/eyes: If you have high blood pressure or any issues with the intraocular pressure in your eyes, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before embarking on an inversion practice. You may find that you prefer sticking to restorative inversions, or slowly exploring other options with the support of your healthcare provider and yoga teacher. Any uncomfortable feelings of pressure in the eyes or head are a good indication to take it down a notch.
Space/environment: Having enough space to practise inversions (dynamic ones in particular) is important (for example, my boat isn’t the best for handstand practice!). Make sure your space is clear and open (a park is ideal) and you have all the props you need to support you.
How do we make inversions more accessible and joyful?
Focus on the preparation: in most cases, the preparation for inversions is actually more physically challenging/harder work than the poses themselves. Think planks, side planks, forearms planks and dolphin variations with an emphasis on slow movements, stable form and control. Make the preparation your practice, with the posture being an optional extra, rather than the goal.
Consider which inversion suits you best, and focus on it: spend some time exploring different inversions in order to find one that suits your body and practice. For example, the proportions of your upper arms relative to the length of your head and neck can have a big impact on how comfortable and accessible you find headstanding (as can the ratio between torso length and leg length in handstanding). If you have shorter humerus bones (upper arm bones) relative to the height of your head, you might enjoy working with forearm/handstand over headstand. If one posture doesn’t work for you, try another.
Little and often: when first beginning to explore inversions, take a little and often approach. Spending 5 minutes playing around before or after your regular yoga class/practice is plenty to start with, especially if you can do this a couple of times a week. Planning to set aside an hour to work on inversions seems tempting, but in reality can feel like too much both mentally and physically).
Reframe your relationship with inversions (or, don’t use them as a stick to beat yourself with): Pause and take a moment to consider why you’re interested in doing inversions in the first place. Is it because it’s what you think real yoga practitioners do? Or maybe it feels like everyone around you is doing them and you’re feeling like you’re missing out? In my opinion, the only reason to explore inversions is if you feel genuine curiosity and interest. Inversions can be fun, empowering and uplifting, but so can a great savasana, child’s pose or reclining twist. Reflecting on your intention with inversions will help you place them into perspective with the rest of your yoga practice and life.
Talk to your community: if you’re not sure how you’re feeling about inversions, there are plenty of people in the same boat. I’d encourage you to touch base with friends, fellow students, even teachers to ask them about their experience with inversions. You’d be surprised how even many yoga teachers are still working through various obstacles with inversions, and hearing where other people are at will help validate and normalise your own experiences.
Be gentle: perhaps most importantly, be gentle with yourself. Whilst feeling disappointed or discouraged is to be expected when trying something new for the first time, you really can’t ‘fail’ at inversions. They’re there to be played with, to help you explore your body in new ways, to offer a moment to appreciate your strength, resilience, or capacity for quietude.
If you have any questions, thoughts or comments on anything I’ve mentioned here, I’d love to hear from you. You can find me @harrietmcatee on Instagram, or email me at harriet@nourishyogatraining.com
Or you can catch my inversions workshop in June! The workshop is on Sunday the 12th of June from 15:30-18:30 and costs £30 per person.
