The most powerful force that we must overcome both during and after training is one of the unalterable laws of nature. You can’t see it, touch it or smell it, but you do feel its effects every day and experience its cumulative damage to your body over a lifetime. No other force affects us so dramatically, contributing to problems such as: back pain, circulatory complications, prolapsed organs and digestive problems to name a few.
What is this force?
It’s called GRAVITY.
We all know the benefits of taking part in physical activity are far reaching but what is not so easily recognised are the potentially negative effects exercise can have especially with regard to the compressive effects of gravity. To understand how dramatically gravity affects your spine, try this. Measure your height in the morning and again at night. You can temporarily lose up to 2cm in height daily due to spinal compression and most people will lose between 1.5 and 5cm in their height during a lifetime due to gravitational pull squeezing the moisture from the disks. So, if gravity can cause so many problems, would it not make sense that reversing the effects of this powerful force, would also reverse its damage?
How can we achieve this….quite literally, as the title suggests….by turning your world upside down?
Inverting the body in a headstand position for only a few minutes, twice a day can have major benefits to improving performance and recovery as well as benefits not as closely linked to exercise and training such as relieving mild depression, enhancing concentration and focus, improving memory, relieving back pain, reducing cellulite, nourishing the skin and stimulating hair growth. It’s also a great method of stress therapy and relaxation.
Inversion…what can it do for you?
Speeds up recovery after a workout
All the cells we destroy during a workout need to be transported out of the body to make room for new growth. Lactic acid and other waste products also accumulate after intense activity, which make the muscles sore. The faster the waste produced can be cleared, the faster the stiffness in the muscles will disappear. The lymph system which has no pump is partially responsible for this. Inversion helps to stimulate lymph flow which speeds up the removal of waste and allows the body to focus on building new tissue. Stimulated lymph drainage also removes toxins from other tissues and improves the efficiency of the immune system. Blood and lymph fluid is relieved from the legs and ankles and regular headstands prevents the build up of fluid in the legs and feet. This reduction of fluid can also reduce the occurrence of varicose and spider veins.
Strengthens ligaments and increases flexibility
When your ligaments are stretched too much, they can tear. Reverse loading them by inverting strengthens the ligaments and connective tissue. Strong ligaments are vital for proper joint support and could prevent you from serious injury. Stretching whilst inverted not only uses your bodyweight to maximise effectiveness, it also eliminates and compression. The resulting traction lengthens muscles.
Stretches and realigns the body and elongate the spine
All physical activity involves a certain amount of compression of the spine but we can make it worse by creating skeletal misalignments by taking part in one sided activities such as tennis and golf. Inverting the body provides the opportunity to relax through the reversal of pressures. By inverting, you are creating the perfect position for your spine to decompress and stretch out along with the other muscle groups in the back, legs and glutes. Inversion elongates the spine, increasing the space between the vertebrae, which relieves the pressure on the disks and ligaments and allows the spine to realign to its natural position resulting in better body symmetry and posture. You will be rehydrating your disks and reducing nerve pressure. When the body is balanced, it is more resilient to injury and able to perform at a higher, more efficient level.
Build core muscles and upper body strength
Well developed core muscles are so important . They keep the spine in correct alignment thereby helping to avoid injury and improve performance. When we stand, we can get away with lazy posture. When you’re upside down you have to engage your core to balance. Exercises such as crunches performed in the inverted position can help strengthen the core muscles without adding any compression to the spine. Performing the headstand regularly will also strengthen the neck, shoulders and arms.
Balances hormones
Increase oxygen flow to the brain, give your heart a rest and balance your hormones.
Your brain is the largest consumer of oxygen (using 25% of the body’s oxygen intake). A brain that is better nourished, simply works better. Your heart must work against gravity to pump blood and other fluids to your brain and around your body, so why not give it a rest and turn yourself upside down. Your brain cells will be soaked in fresh blood providing oxygen and nutrients which will increase thinking power, improve memory, concentration, hearing and vision.
Due to the increased blood supply to the brain, headstands stimulate the pituitary and hypothalamus glands. The strength of these glands is absolutely vital as they regulate the functioning of all other glands in the body including the sex hormones, the thyroid (which affects your metabolism), the pineal (produces melatonin which affects your sleep patterns) and your adrenals (which reduce the production of cortisol, the stress hormone) Our health and vitality can improve dramatically when these hormones are balanced.
Healthier and more effective lung tissue
Inversion causes the upper part of the lungs to be saturated with blood ensuring more efficient oxygen consumption. The lungs and diaphragm can also be strengthened and due to the lungs working against the strain of the body’s organs resting on them. This encourages deep breathing which gently massages the internal organs. It has even been known to improve the symptoms of asthma, hay fever, headaches, jet lag and anxiety.
A word on youth and beauty. Headstands can also reduce facial wrinkles and have a natural face lift effect. It allows the skin to rest in the other direction and increases circulation to the face which brings nutrients and oxygen resulting in clearer, brighter, glowing skin.
So, there you are, hanging around upside down is not only fun and challenging, it has a multitude of benefits and it lets you see the world from a different view.
Ready to give it a try?
Take a break and relax, simulate weightlessness, place your body in a position that utilises gravity’s force in your favour.
To fully benefit, the headstand must be performed for 3-5 minutes a day.
If you are pregnant, suffer from high or low blood pressure, detached retina, glaucoma, hernias, cardiovascular disease, thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, kidney problems or have recently had dental or facial surgery you should not perform headstands. Also those suffering from neck injuries should seek advice from a medical professional and it is advisable for women during menstruation to avoid them.