3 Poses for Awakening

The difference between yoga and many other forms of exercise is that while you are doing it, you are paying attention. You notice your breath, your rhythm, the specific ways the body feels in each posture. Yoga can be a form of moving meditation. This can be true for any pose, but these three advanced poses, which bring energy into the head, heart, and throat, are especially helpful for awakening.

- By Julie Peters

Inverted postures are not for beginners and should only be done within an appropriate sequence and with an experienced teacher or practitioner. Don’t do anything that hurts or doesn’t feel right, and ask your doctor or health practitioner if this practice is right for you. That said, even the beginning of a headstand will change your perspective.

1 HEADSTAND

Headstand is one of the most classical postures of yoga, the king of the yoga poses, and is said to be the one that brings us closest to enlightenment. Some people think of Headstand as a meditation in and of itself, partly because when you’re in Headstand, you can’t think of anything other than being in Headstand. It also connects your thinking center, your mind, to the earth. With your perspective upside down, you may be able to see things differently than you could when you were right side up. Do not practice this pose with any neck issues, eye issues, or high blood pressure.