Scrolling through my latest yoga posts I realized I've focused a lot on what I dislike and I thought it'd be good to balance it out with what I love. These are my feel good poses and the ones I turn to most often.
The picture above is headstand, or sirsasana in Sanskrit. Headstand is an energizing pose and is great in the middle of the day when I'm starting to hit that mid-day slump. Ten minutes in headstand and it feels like I've had 2 cups of coffee. Instant wake up!
I usually flip over (not always on purpose, haha) out of headstand into this backbend. I have loved backbends since I was a kid in gymnastics. While the name implies its benefit to the back, the real benefit is to the front body stretch you get out of it. The front of the legs, the stomach, the chest, the shoulders- these all get a good stretch in backbend.
Natarajasana, or dancer's pose, is hands down one of my favorite poses in yoga. It's a full body stretch- the arm pits, the chest, the front body, the hip flexors, the hamstrings, the back- everything gets a good stretch in dancer's pose.
And lastly, this one is a current favorite. You stay in the first pose for five breaths (make sure back is straight, lowest ribs are tucked in and lifted, abs are engaged) and then you round the back, roll back and hold with your toes touching the mat. The final pose with your toes on your mat, fingers still pulling at the toes, feels so good on the back and between the ribs.
So those are my current favorites. What are your go-to yoga poses for feeling good?