5 Asanas for Mental Clarity
This article originally appeared on Yoganonymous.com.
Image via Vogue Spain
Mental clarity is key to maintaining a healthy, balanced life.
So how can you cultivate more of it? The easy answer is: Use these five poses to get you back in touch with your mental magic. These poses are designed to restore and clear out congestion in your head, making them perfect to practice at any time of day. Test out these poses right when you wake up, during your lunch hour, or right before you head to bed.
5 Asanas for Mental Clarity
1. Child’s pose
Surrender, surrender, surrender. That’s what this pose is all about. Many times when your mind is buzzing, the best thing to do is to surrender to your thoughts. Treat this pose like a meditation, and just let your layers fall off of you. Stay in this pose for as long as you need.
2. Crow pose (or tripod)
Don’t you know how easily you can let go of stress and worry in crow? If crow is too much on your arms, feel free to tilt it forward into tripod, or headstand. The magic in this pose lies in the fact that you are surging the face with fresh blood. When you give your brain more of that “life juice,” expect better problem-solving abilities, clear focus, and a seemingly lighter body.
3. Legs up the wall pose
Oh man, this pose will calm your nervous system, your lymphatic system, revive your immune system, and replenish your internal organs. And do you know what the best part is about this pose? You don’t have to do anything except breathe. For optimal benefits, stay in this pose for a minimum of 10 minutes. It may seem long, but your legs, heart, and head will thank you for it.
4. Fish Pose
Lay down, and roll it back into fish pose. Fish pose will help open up your neck and throat chakra, allowing you to more deeply connect with this area that is associated with your personal truth. Moving throughout your days, trying to be a wonderful, loving person can sometimes stifle your truth center. Why? Because sensitive people are compassionate and often make excuses for others at their own expense. So, if you feel like you’re unclear about your direction and what’s true to you in your life, sort is out as you breathe in fish pose.
5. Alternate Nostril Breathing
Oh yeah, open up those nasal passages! Alternate nostril breathing is ideal for getting more oxygen to your brain. An added benefit is that it also opens up your third-eye center. Your third eye is the space in your body associated with your intuition, your inner-knowingness, and your ability to think five steps ahead of the game. Your third eye is a major key to living a happy, healthy, and successful life. Success and happiness look differently to you than they would to any other person, (no matter how similar you are). So, stay here for five rounds of breath, five minutes, or longer, and allow yourself to tune into the mental image of happiness that best suits you and your purpose.
