Asana on a Monday: Viparita Karani

It's a travel day for me today!  We were a big bag of mixed emotions as we left Stockholm early this morning to return to NYC for the next three months.  Knowing that Peppe will be by my side during all of the upcoming changes keeps me feeling settled - wherever we are together, is home.  We had a fun, productive, challenging, and fulfilling past few months in Sweden and I am feeling more and more comfortable there and like I can call it home.

Today's asana is a restorative pose that is great when traveling called Legs up the Wall (Viparita Karani).  In this posture, we lay on our back, sit bones as close to the wall as is comfortable,  with  (you guessed it!) our legs up the wall.  Viparita Karani is remarkably grounding while also giving many of the benefits of an inversion, like handstand, but without expelling a ton of energy.  Having the feet elevated allows gravity to move fluids in the legs which can be helpful before and after travel when we are sitting on a plane all day.  

Thankfully, we had a safe and mostly uneventful trip across the Atlantic.  After we got a bit settled in our new digs on East 59th, we happily discovered the Whole Foods around the corner where I stocked up on organic produce and all-natural bath and aromatherapy essentials.  I enjoyed a soak in some lavender bath salts and then rolled my mat out, made my ginger tea, and put my feet up the wall.  It felt so fantastic after the long day of travel.  Now we are looking forward to an early bedtime to wake up feeling fresh again tomorrow!

Morning flight from Stockholm and ready for the next chapter in our great adventure!

Start sitting with your right hip as close to the wall as possible. Then shift both hips towards the wall and swing your legs up in one motion. Play with your distance from the wall - there should still be a natural curve in the spine. Sometimes it can feel nice to place a blanket or even a bolster under the sit bones.