This entry was posted on Dec 17, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
Some time again I wrote a publish on 4 Methods to Hone Your Balancing Abilities. Within the publish, I describe other ways our our bodies and minds assist us to remain balanced. Yoga is uniquely suited to at least one facet of balancing specifically: stimulating the vestibular system.
What Is the Vestibular System?
The vestibular system is integral to holding us upright, not solely in yoga apply, but additionally in merely standing and strolling in our on a regular basis lives. In keeping with the Cleveland Clinic, right here’s what our vestibular techniques do for us:
“Your vestibular system is a key a part of a posh sensory system that retains you in stability. Strolling, operating and even remaining upright with out falling are all actions you are able to do due to your vestibular system.
“Vestibular organs inside your inside ear sense your head actions and ship this info to your mind. The actions present details about your place and orientation inside your environment. Your mind integrates this knowledge with sensory info out of your eyes, muscle groups and joints. Your eyes allow you to orient primarily based on what you see, whereas your muscle groups and joints present sensory info as they make contact along with your environment.
“Based mostly on these three inputs (vestibular system + eyes + muscle groups and joints), your mind sends indicators that inform your physique tips on how to stay in stability.”
How Can Yoga Assist?
Yoga is exclusive amongst bodily practices in its skill to stimulate the vestibular system. Every time we modify our head place, we create vestibular enter. In most types of bodily apply—operating, strolling, bicycling, Zumba lessons—our head stays upright. In a typical yoga apply, we modify our head place many instances, in quite a lot of methods.
Fundamental poses comparable to Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Going through Canine Pose), wide-legged standing poses comparable to Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), standing and seated ahead bends, backbends comparable to Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose) and naturally, all of the inversions require that our heads be in positions aside from upright.
- Enhance vestibular enter. Follow yoga poses that place your head in numerous positions. Listed below are a number of examples:
- Head down: Downward Going through Canine Pose, Uttanasana (Standing Ahead Bend), Prasarita Padottanasana (Broad-Legged Standing Ahead Bend)
- Head sideways: Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Parsvakonasana (Facet-Angle Pose), Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose)
- Going through the bottom: Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose), Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III) and all seated ahead bends
- Head again: Ustrasana (Camel Pose), Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Arms Pose)
- The wrong way up: Sirsasana (Headstand), Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), Pinca Mayurasana (Elbow Steadiness), Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand), Upward Bow Pose
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the writer of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Follow and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third ebook is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.