For Beginners: Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-Wall Pose)

Reset your mind and renew your spirit with this restorative posture.

By Claudia Cummins

Now draw your awareness even beneath the breath, toward the shifting sensations of life pulsing through you. Trace the flow of energy that travels from your heels through the waterfalls of your legs, into the warm lake of the belly, over the gentle waves of the rib cage, through the grotto of the heart, and all the way out through the channels of the neck and head before dissolving into the ocean of life beyond you. Embrace the feeling of being drained and emptied, and notice how calming this gentle inversion can be for both the heart and the head.

Pause, breathe, and when you're ready, drop inward again. Notice that beneath the body's surface—beneath the rise and fall of the breath, even beneath the flow of inner energy—there lies a tranquil sea of quiet and ease.

Observe how this stillness supports you, how even when you let everything you know about yourself dissolve, you are still buoyed by the world. With each quiet exhalation, see if you can drift a little closer to the stillness that lies at the very heart of the universe. Let yourself float in this soothing silence for as long as you desire.

When your body signals that it is ready to move back into the world of action, slowly slide your legs down the wall, bending your knees close to your chest. Rest here for a few moments before pressing your feet into the wall and sliding your hips past the blankets and onto the floor. Don't hurry—you've just emerged from the depths and may need a few moments to reacclimate to the world around you.

When you do sit up, observe how you feel in your body, your breath, your mind, and your heart. Ask yourself whether you feel a little softer and more centered than you did before you took the pose. Perhaps you also feel smoother, quieter, and more at ease. Your journey through Viparita Karani may have even left you feeling a bit more like the calm, balanced, and tenderhearted creature you were always meant to be.

Claudia Cummins extends her gratitude to instructors John Schumacher and Patricia Walden for their expert instruction in the fundamentals of yoga, always offered with clarity, depth, humor, and heart.

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