Spooky Yoga Postures on Halloween

Hello creepy people who is interest in scary yoga poses for Halloween 🎃

I am not going to lie the first time I ever hear or read about yoga postures for Halloween I thought it can not be real , but at the same time I was curious like you to see what is this about.

It is a great topic to use if you are teaching yoga for kids but also is a great idea to give a fun turn to any of your regular yoga classes and allow yourself as you can allow your students (if you are a yoga teacher) to do not care about what people think.

Why is that?

Well.. I think we can use this theme as an excuse to practice those awkward postures or pranayama (breathing exercises) that we will never do in public because we are to worry   about what the other might think if they see me doing this. Or you can feel silly when you do it 

Here is some examples of what I am talking about.

Yoga postures to have fun trying on Halloween

Get into your comfy clothes and yoga mat

Maybe some zombie make up 😉 and let’s begin

Marjaryasana (Black Cat pose)

Also known as the cat & crow pose we usually do as part of a spinal warm up before the practice of the more challenges asanas. It has great benefits!

Try to synchronise each movement, each breathing. On your neutral table pose; as you inhale lift your tailbone and you chess, looking up producing an arch on your spine; as you exhale tuck your tailbone rush the floor look into your own belly rounding the spine.

Benefits:

• Improves the flexibility in your spine and back muscles.
• Stimulate and massage the internal organs of your belly.
• Is a great practice to relieves the the menstrual cramps and the uncomfortable pain this can bring.

If you have knees problems you can imitate the same movement seating on a pillows or on a chair .

 

Tittibhasana (Creepy Crawly Pose)

Warning: this is not a beginner pose. Practice some arm balances postures for strengthen on your arm and upperbody muscles  before this, ex: plank, Adho Mukasvanasa (down dog)

Known in English as firefly pose.

Come into a squat with your legs wide and your hands behind your heels with your fingers facing forward. Balance the backs of your upper thighs on your elbows and extend your legs forward out in front of you.

Preparatory postures:

• Bakasana (crow pose)
• Baddha konasana (bound angle pose)

Benefits:

• Strengthens the arms and wrists
• Tones the belly
• Improves sense of balance

 

Simhasana (Lion Pose/breath)

Are you ready to get rare?

This is a pose that can make you feel uncomfortable to practice if it is your first time.

The name comes from the Sanskrit words simha meaning “lion”, and asana (āsana) meaning “posture”.

The asana resembles a seated lion, hence the name Simha (lion in Sanskrit) asana. The practitioner’s facial expressions are modified to resemble a lion.

Following the kneeling position from the image below, press your palms firmly against your knees and take a deep inhalation through the nose. Then simultaneously open your mouth wide and stretch your tongue out, curling its tip down toward the chin, open your eyes wide, contract the muscles on the front of your throat, and exhale the breath slowly out through your mouth with a distinct “ha” sound. The breath should pass over the back of the throat.

 

Simhasana is a good pose to use to “clear the air,” so to speak, at or near the beginning of an asana or pranayama practice. So almost any pose would be appropriate to practice next

Preparatory postures:

• Dandasana (seating position with extended legs)
• Sukhasana  (seating cross legs position)

Benefits:

• Relieves tension in the chest and face.
• Reduce anxiety and stress with calming effects after the practice 
• According to traditional texts, Simhasana destroys disease and facilitates the three major bandhas (Mula, Jalandhara, Uddiyana).

If you are not familiar with the terms the explanations of the bandas is extended so I promise to do it another post.   

Kapalbahati Pranayama (front brain cleansing breath) 

Kapal: meaning cranium/skull

Bhati: meaning light-perception or knowledge.

This pranayama invigorates the entire brain and the centres responsable for subtler perception and insight. 

Sit in a comfortable position, spine straight, you can sit on a pillow and place  your hand on you knees. it can be better to practice with your eyes close to avoid distractions.

Kapalbahati only use forced exhalation, reducing the thoracic volume in exhalation while inhalation remains restful. Commence this pranayama by forcing the breath out by puling the abdominal muscles in, allow the inhalation to occur spontaneously. Practice fifty kapalbahati breath. Perform both inhalation and exhalation trough the nostril; practice to the speed of about one breath per second. After the last expulsion of air, inhale fully, then exhale fully and hold the breath out for 5 sec.

Rest a short period of time before the next round. You can practice up the 10 rounds

Some of the benefits is to purifies the whole body by accelerating the alveolar air, stimulating the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with can provide a total effect of cleansing and increasing metabolism throughout the body. Also helps to release tensions. Is a useful practice for the suffers of asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis.

Contraindications: should not be practiced by people suffering high blood pressure, vertigo or hernia.

 

---

These are just a few I suggest to practice on Halloween so you can get out of your regular yoga routine and give your self permission to  try different yoga postures that might not look as pretty as other ones.

Don’t care about what others might think! Have fun, sometimes we take yoga in an extremely serious way. Explore new movements!

Your limits in this practice would be to listen to your body and practice with awareness where safety always goes  first.

Do not hesitate to consult a professional yoga instructor if you do not know how to get into the posture.

Thank you for stoping by 

Renée