At a Hathayoga* class in India, the instructor told us how he reversed the graying process of his hair and rejuvenated his face by the magic of an upside down posture !
Most of our waking life is spent with our heads high up (not receiving enough blood), and our feet low down (getting too much of it). When we sleep, this gets evened out a bit, but apparently not enough, since we often end up with varicose veins and face & scalp with weak circulation.
Putting our heads down and feet up for a few moments every day can do wonders for our beauty, and mind. A boost to our blood circulation will make our skin glow, decreases wrinkles, makes our hair grow faster... and more blood in our brain means better thinking ! Many writers and poets actually lay or even hung (!) upside-down to help themselves think better !
To spend a few minutes every day, you don't need to know how to do the
Sarvangasana or the sirsasana. It's enough to put your feet up against a wall, and then read a book, do EFT, file your nails or wait till your lover comes to bed.
How long you do this is up to you. In the beginning you'll probably be comfortable in this position only for a short moment, but soon you'll get used to it. My instructor told me that the blood first goes to the scalp, after a certain number of minutes it goes to the face and the brain (I forget the exact sequence and the exact time... ) and then it takes some more time for the blood to reach the neck. So, the more time you give it, the more benefit you get.
remember though, do not stand up immediately after you are done, or the blood will rush madly back to your feet. Lie down flat for a moment, then stand up.
important:
Do not do this if you have high blood pressure. On the other hand, those with low blood pressure will benefit from it !
* It is commonly called Yoga in the west. Using Yoga for this type of physical postures & exercises is really a bad usage of the word, since these exercises are actually called Hathayoga are a small part of Yoga.
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