Awaken a Whole New World with Inversions
I started experiencing something different, more profound, a deeper connection with myself. I became submerged in a sense of euphoria that came on like a warm blanket and I let myself go into this amazing transcendental feeling. I was weightless, comfortable and totally upside down! I was waking up something new, something exciting and it felt Gooood! This inverted position was offering me a whole new perspective, a change in the state of my mind, a sense of power mixed with blissfulness, a sense of peace, and a place of rest, like cloud 9!
Inversions were developed by the yogic sages in order to prepare the body to achieve physical bliss, thus allowing a clear path towards enlightenment. Inversions were known to stimulate and nourish the endocrine glands—most of all the pineal and pituitary glands in the brain. When stimulated by the pressure created in inversions, these glands release hormones that regulate cellular metabolism, bringing balance, clarity, vitality and optimism to the whole body-mind system. Inversions release hormones that cause an expansion of consciousness, which provides us with an opportunity to let go of mundane and stressful concerns, to become available to a more cosmic consciousness. Inversions stimulate the crown chakra, which is said to open a doorway to the Divine. Perhaps you may know the pineal gland by names given it over thousands of years ago, such as the Third Eye, the Eye of Horus or the Seat of the Soul.
3000 BC—Drawings of inverted yoga poses have been found on ancient stone seals in Egypt.
400 BC—Hippocrates, Father of Medicine, took inversion a step further by combining it with traction to enhance the effects. Patients were hung upside down from a ladder using ropes and pulleys. He did this for these benefits: • to relieve back pain • to improve posture and alignment • to increase flexibility • to strengthen ligaments and joints |
The pineal gland is a small pine cone shaped organ inside the brain that secretes hormones like melatonin and serotonin which are responsible for sleep, mood, meditative states, bliss and euphoria. We all have within us the capacity to consciously connect with Higher Intelligence and this passage way is activated by the pineal gland when it secretes a hormone similar to melatonin, called METAtonin. It's chemically active ingredient is known as DMT (Dimethyltryptamine), also known as the Spirit Molecule. It is has been researched and it has been found that DMT's effects help us awaken to the spirit world. On the energy level, the pineal gland is the physical manifestation of the 6th chakra – Ajna, associated with our mystic potential, spiritual wisdom and perception of non-physical reality.
The ancient yogis believed that the most profound effect of inversions is on what the gurus in India call the nectar of Brahma, a fluid called "amrita" that is secreted by the pineal gland and which was thought to be “the fluid of immortality”. There are countless yogic practices that aim at helping this nectar, which we refer to as DMT, flow. Keeping your body in a continuous inverted position was thought to cause this fluid to drip down into your solar plexus and then evaporate. The gurus thought that you could retain some of this fluid by practicing inversions.
Both psychologically and physiologically, your pineal gland plays a number of important roles. If it's not functioning properly, you may suffer from sleep disorders, SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and problems with your biological clock. According to Yoga Journal, yoga poses that increase circulation to your head may help support the operation of your pineal gland.
Inversions also provide a powerful toning massage to the internal organs, which helps detoxify the organs by stimulating movement and counteracting stagnation. |
In a 1992, Yoga International article on headstand and the circulatory system, Coulter wrote: “If you can remain in an inverted posture for just 3 to 5 minutes, the blood will not only drain quickly to the heart, but tissue fluids will flow more efficiently into the veins and lymph channels of the lower extremities and of the abdominal and pelvic organs, facilitating a healthier exchange of nutrients and wastes between cells and capillaries.”
The heart gets a rest when the body is inverted. The heart works hard all day and night, against gravity, to move oxygenated blood up to the brain and throughout the body, but when you are inverted the blood flows on its own without the heart having to do all the work. Many experts say that this is as good for the body as aerobic exercise for promoting a healthy heart and good circulation!
When we invert, we are literally turning our world upside down. This disorientation requires us to draw from places in our psyches that we may not have approached much before. Rest assured, it’s not as hard as it sounds. In order to fully experience this new angle of perception, we must relax both our bodies and minds and surrender to the inversion with faith—trusting your body to let go.
Inversions help bring the many systems of the body into a harmonized equilibrium, balancing not only the physical, but also the energetic, emotional and mental bodies, thus promoting spiritual development. Inverting is really great for spinal decompression and for our joints; it helps slow down the aging process, builds strength and flexibility, reduces stress and anxiety and improves concentration and self-confidence.
The point is to not go a day without turning your world upside down so that you may indulge in the transforming benefits that you will feel when your body is balanced!
Wait no more! Relax, put your feet up and experience an impressive, inspiring new world!
Nathalie Marie Sauvageau