For many, the thought of inverting their body during any activity can cause anxiety. But did you know that inversion doesn’t have to be scary? In fact, it can be quite invigorating.
Your body need not be completely upside down to be considered inverted. Inversion is simply reversing the body’s natural posture to a point where the legs are above the heart. By incorporating a gravity board—like that found on the Total Trainer® home fitness machine—into any Yoga routine, you can make inversions easy and enjoyable.
Studies have shown that temporary inversion of the body improves circulation, which provides for healthier lung tissue and greater overall health.
Inversion Benefits
In addition, inversion:
- Provides temporary relief to the heart, which lowers your blood pressure and pulse for a time.
- Stimulates the pituitary gland, your body’s master gland, which promotes greater mental health and focus.
- Stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands, which regulate metabolism and help to fight off fatigue, giving you more energy.
- Relieves musculoskeletal pressure, allowing your body to rebalance and heal.
Going into an inverted pose at any angle can be fun and exciting. You are viewing the world from a totally different perspective, which can have a healing effect on the mind.
The wonderful thing about incorporating a gravity board is the variety of inversions the board allows us to explore. With gravity resistance, we use our natural body weight to build and tone muscles. This can be a more effective form of strengthening the body since gravity keeps a constant load throughout the enitre motion of exercise.
Inversions on a Total Trainer
With the Total Trainer gravity gliding system, you can:
- Steady yourself for safer, worry-free inversions.
- Adjust the percentage of body weight from 6 percent to 72 percent simply by adjusting the incline of the board.
- Slowly increase resistance from body weight as you become stronger.
- Create additional inversions with the use of the pull-up bar or foot straps.
- Easily flip your feet over your head to strengthen and tone your pelvic floor.
- Anti-gravity clears toxins from the body’s tissues, as well. This has a cleansing effect for greater vitality.
Inversion also provides a musculoskeletal benefit to the back. The spine compresses with time and increased exposure to the earth’s gravitational pull. This can cause substantial pain as we age. By inverting the body, especially with the use of a gravity board, we are able to relieve the pressure on spinal discs, ligaments, and soft tissue, allowing them to heal.
View the Universe in a Different Way
In a semi-inverted pose, we relieve the weight on the neck and shoulders. This releases the tension that builds in the upper body throughout the day, which has a relaxing effect, better preparing us for the stresses life brings.
And finally, when we go upside-down, we experience opposite and unfamiliar relationships to the objects around us, stimulating neuromuscular awareness and allowing us to expand our sense of being in the world. We begin to see new possibilities and fewer limitations with just a simple change in perspective—making us feel more alive!
For more information on Colette Barry, The Barry Method™, and Healthy Fit Studio, visit www.healthyfitstudio.com.
Colette Barry is CEO of Healthy Fit Studio and Founder of The Barry Method training system. She’s author of the book, “Wall Yoga – The Art of Centering,” and the DVD, “The Barry Method Workout For The Total Trainer.” Colette Barry has over 30 years experience as a Massage Therapist, Certified Yoga Instructor, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist, and Certified Pilates Instructor. Colette writes for numerous fitness and health magazines such as Chiropractic Economic and Advanced P.T. She’s also a public speaker and offers certification to instructors of The Barry Method. Colette Barry is married and lives in Ohio with her husband.