Exercising and its benefits are proven but sometimes you just need to take a day off, and that’s ok! Most of us are used to keep pushing ourselves to the limit and there are multiple times when you don’t know what to do when you feel without energy.
I’ve been a LiveStrong Coach and Trainer for more than 25 years. However, there were days that I just couldn’t push myself. Don’t get me wrong, no one loves exercising more than I do. Leaving it all out there and pushing myself is something I love. The stress, pressure, and the wear and tear of day-to-day life, often, fly away when I am working out!
While physical activities and endurance might be exhausting your body’s energy, it’s often not the only factor that might be draining your energy.
Sometimes it’s the emotional exhaustion of constantly trying to balance in life that can also weigh you down. We all have a lot on our plates between our professional and personal commitments, and it can be truly exhausting. I have a wonderful and full life, but life on life’s terms can be tiresome!
So what can you do about it? What is something that doesn’t take up a lot of time and energy but can also provide a lot of benefits?
The answer can be “Viparita Karani” or in simpler terms “Legs up on the wall”. Everyone’s fitness journey is different, but there is always something you can do that is beneficial and restorative! Perhaps trying Viparita Karani or Leg’s Up the Wall can be that for you! Something as simple as spending time employing the techniques of Viparita Karani can be as beneficial for your body as a great customized workout or even a strict diet regimen.
The position originates mainly in the disciplines of Yoga. Viparita Karani is a great way to strengthen and restore the body. By taking off some of the stress and burden from our internal systems, this position can help you refill your energy and keep your energy levels in check!
Here’s why to make Viparita Karani your new ‘go-to’ move.
Viparita translates to “inverted”, and Karani means “in action”. This movement is meant to “invert” the natural actions that our bodies do in order to sit and stand. The aim of this movement is to lessen the amount of effort that our bodies have to exert in order to carry out simple human functions.
Based on further research, some of the proven benefits of the “Legs Up the Wall” are increased blood circulation to the head and upper body, realigning, and rebalancing after you have been standing or sitting for a long period of time. This pose is especially effective when you are stressed, fatigued, or jet-lagged. But its true greatness is that it teaches us essentially that less is more. As with any exercise, a slight modification can help boost a different part of your body, and Legs Up the Wall is no exception.
When you put your legs up the wall and make a slight adjustment with your pelvis elevated using a blanket, for example. The adjusted Legs Up the Wall can help release some of the pressure from fluids that often cause swollen ankles, tired knees, and congested pelvis organs. This movement refreshes your legs and can provide a great boost to those pregnant or dealing with lingering injuries.
It’s often believed that we have to work hard to reap the benefits of an exercise. While in some context it can be true, LUW begs to differ! It gives a different approach to “work”. Whether in exercise or life, when you relax you restore. When you restore it, you become stronger and can exert more effort.
Wrapping things up
When you feel without energy and are too tired to run one more mile or you are feeling emotionally exhausted from work, life, family, and friends all vying for your time, take a moment. Take your Legs Up the Wall.
Why? Why Not? You can take it anywhere. It needs no equipment. What do you have to lose? LUW can be done anywhere, anytime. In the park against a tree, in the baby’s room, or on the hotel bed during a business trip.
Whether at the gym or going to your regular Yoga Class, today’s go-to move is Legs Up the Wall. The move that goes with you, wherever you go! Go LUW!