Inversion Yoga Poses

When head-below-hips poses are off limits, you can still experience playfulness and challenge with these alternative asanas.

Plow Pose (Halasana) reduces backache and can help you get to sleep.

There's a general consensus among modern yogis that Viparita Karani or Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose may have the power to cure whatever ails you.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana boosts energy and confidence, and can literally give you a new perspective on life.

Standing on your head in Salamba Sirsasana strengthens the whole body and calms the brain.

One of yoga's most widely recognized poses, Adho Mukha Svanasana strengthens the core and improves circulation, while providing a delicious, full-body stretch.

The hair might steal the show in this scroll-stopping posture, but hidden underneath is the demanding—and rewarding—One-Armed Handstand.

Being upside down can shift how we view the world—literally and figuratively.

Shift your perspective as you move step by step into Salamba Sirsasana II.

Do inversions make you anxious—and excited to try them? Work through those nagging fears and you’ll reap all the juicy benefits. Here, 8 top yoga teachers share their best tips for how to find the courage to go upside down, or to try a new inverted pose.

Start to understand, lengthen, and strengthen your teres major—a little-known muscle that can be the key to protecting your shoulders when you go upside down.

How to do it, why you should, and the secrets to making inversions less scary, more stable, and a ton of fun

If you’ve mastered Bakasana and are ready to take your arm balance practice to the next level, try incorporating these Bakasana toe-taps into your routine.

This week, Los Angeles-based yoga teacher Clio Manuelian offers an invigorating and grounding inversions-focused plan to prepare the body and mind to open to the insight of meditation.

This week, Los Angeles-based yoga teacher Clio Manuelian offers an invigorating and grounding inversions-focused plan to prepare the body and mind to open to the insight of meditation.

Master Baptiste Yoga teacher Leah Cullis created this fun and challenging sequence to boost your core strength and mood as you flip your world upside down.

Use these four steps to guide your practice, build inner strength, and nail the coveted pose. Go get it!

Move step by step with courage and strength into Salamba Sirsasana.

Inversions are a rite of a passage, testing your mental and physical boundaries. Learn how to conquer your fear.

Learn to balance as you move step by step into Pincha Mayurasana.

For serious arm balance inspiration, look no further than this video from Equinox's Dylan Werner. Expect stunning poses and breathtaking transitions. Plus, 5 tips to advance your practice.

Before you try any inversion for the first time, prepare your body and practice proper alignment to prevent injury and to reap the benefits.

Have a case of the winter blahs? It’s impossible to stay in a funk after doing several rounds of Leap Frogs.

Feeling lethargic and just kind of blah? Go upside down!

You've set your intentions for the New Year—now it’s time to keep them. That's where yoga comes in.

Need help getting started with inversions? Try these 6 poses from Two Fit Moms.

Form a strong foundation to eventually achieve the full expression of the Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana) pose.

Advanced inversions and arm balances really scare me. How can I tell if I’m ready for them? And how can I overcome my fear?

This step-by-step approach to Handstand can benefit longtime inversion fans and total newbies.

Kathryn Budig shares her 4 steps to fold into inverted Padmasana in tripod headstand.

Enjoy the sweet opening of your shoulders and chest as you prepare for Shoulderstand.

Shine awareness into dull and immobile areas of your body to balance steady in Headstand.

No time to do everything? Take a few minutes to do nothing in Viparita Karani.

Shoulderstand doesn't have to be misery. Properly aligned, it can even be joyful—and props can make it possible.

Inversions are considered some of the most essential of yoga poses. Start getting the benefits of being upside down.

A cross between Child's Pose and Downward-Facing Dog, Extended Puppy Pose lengthens the spine and calms the mind.

Dolphin Pose strengthens the core, arms, and legs, while also nicely opening the shoulders.

Salamba Sarvangasana's alignment is delicate, complex—and upside down. Let your mind wander and you risk falling.

You may know Pincha Mayurasana or Feathered Peacock Pose by one of its common aliases: Forearm or Elbow Balance.

Tony Sanchez offers advice for approaching headstand cautiously to avoid injury.

Want to start an inversion practice? Here's what you need to know about the when and why.

A Beginner's Guide to Yoga's Key Inversions: Learn how to face your fear of going upside down and why it's so worth doing.

Iyengar Yoga instructor Lisa Walford explains the strength, flexibility, and actions necessary for Pincha Mayurasana.

Plow Pose increases circulation, suppleness, and vitality and also prepares the body for relaxation and meditation.

This version of Shoulderstand is performed with blanket support under the shoulders.