10 Energizing Yoga Poses for Kapha Season

Energizing yoga poses help to energize both the body and the mind, especially when the weather is cold and wet. These energizing yoga poses can relieve fatigue and reduce sluggishness. For full instructions on how to do these poses, please see a reference guide such as Light on Yoga or Hatha Yoga Illustrated, or take yoga classes with a certified yoga instructor. Be sure to read all ten yoga poses for increasing energy!

10. Adho Mukha Svanasana

Also called Downward Facing Dog Pose, this is one of the most commonly practiced yoga poses. Downward Facing Dog Pose stretches the entire body all at once and increases energy by reducing muscle tension and offering more blood to the brain. A gentler version, in which you place your hands on a wall and keep your feet flat on the ground, can be used at the office (or pretty much anywhere) for a quick pick-me-up when you are feeling sluggish.

9. Chaturanga

Chaturanga is a challenging yoga pose that is sometimes called Four-Limbed Staff Pose or Low Push-Up. The challenge in Chaturanga is to hold your body only a few inches off the floor with your arms bent and elbows in toward your sides. It can be exhausting to hold, but it also gets your heart pumping and with regular practice it can increase your overall energy levels.

8. Bhujangasana

Bhujangasana, Cobra Pose, is also a common yoga pose, and one of the best energizing yoga poses. Like Downward Facing Dog and Chaturanga, Cobra pose is part of the standard Yoga Sun Salutation, a set of 8 (or so) poses linked together and known to be a heating and energizing sequence, commonly practiced at the beginning of yoga classes. When just these three poses are linked together- Chaturanga, Bhujangasana and Adho Mukha Svanasana- it's called a "Vinyasa," and is practiced between other yoga poses to sort of wipe the slate clean. So when you are browsing the yoga studio schedule for a yoga class to help you gain energy, choose a Vinyasa style class to increase energy.

7. Matsyasana

Fish pose is both a backbend and an inversion that can help increase energy and relieve fatigue. Though the full version of this pose includes the legs crossed in Lotus Pose, when practicing this yoga pose to increase energy, keep the legs straight and focus on the backbend. This pose also opens the chest and encourages deep breathing, which can be a major factor in energizing the body and mind. Avoid this pose if you have neck injuries, migraines or blood pressure issues.

6. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Bridge Pose is a slightly deeper backbend that increases energy by stimulating the adrenal glands, opening the chest and increasing circulation. The full version of this pose, as shown in Iyengar's Light on Yoga, has the legs straight and the shoulders lifted, but the more common version is with the knees bent, feet hip-width distance apart and weight supported by the shoulders.

5. Simhasana

Lion Pose stretches an often-neglected part of our body: the face. In addition to relieving tension in the face, eyes and neck, the deep, roaring exhale associated with Lion Pose can removed stale air from the lungs and encourage deeper breathing. Lion Pose is a ridiculous-looking pose, with your tongue sticking out and your eyes rolled up, and if you practice it in pairs you just might find yourselves laughing at each other- and laughter is another great way to increase energy.

4. Purvottanasana

Also called Inclined Plane Pose or Reverse Plank Pose, Purvottanasana is a great yoga pose for increasing energy. In the traditional Ashtanga Vinyasa Primary Series, Purvottanasana appears after a long sequence of forward folding poses. Forward folds are known to be relaxing yoga poses that calm the body. Practicing Purvottanasana after forward folding poses wakes the body up again and increases energy before moving on to other poses.

3. Sarvangasana

Shoulderstand is one of those special poses that can be both calming and energizing. When practiced on a regular basis, Shoulderstand is an excellent yoga pose for relieving stress, which may be a major factor in increasing overall energy levels. But Shoulderstand may also work as a quick-fix because it is an inversion that increases blood flow to the brain to increase energy. Avoid this pose (and any inversion) if you have glaucoma or high blood pressure, and use props such as blankets and chairs when first learning this energizing yoga pose.

2. Adho Vrksasana

Downward Facing Tree Pose, more often simply called Handstand, is one of the best yoga poses for increasing energy. During yoga teacher training, whenever my teacher told me I needed more energy in my voice, she would tell me to go into a Handstand and help hold me there, upside down, while I kept teaching the class. Like Chaturanga, the intensity of the strength needed to hold Handstand gets your heart pumping and increases energy. And like Shoulderstand, more blood flow to the head can give your brain a boost. Inversions can be scary at first, but practice kicking up into Handstand from a shortened Downward Facing Dog Pose with a wall to support you, or ask a trusted friend or teacher to support you, and you will begin to appreciate the exhilarating increase in energy that Handstand can instantly create.

1. Chakrasana

Wheel Pose is without doubt one of the best yoga poses for increasing energy. This full backbend is an advanced yoga pose that increases energy by opening the chest to expand lung capacity, improving blood flow to the brain, reducing tension in the shoulders and neck, and increasing the heart rate. The deep backbend also stimulates the adrenal glands above the kidneys, which can function like an energy booster shot. Although some styles of yoga place Wheel Pose as the final pose in the sequence, it is best to practice a few cool-down poses before going into your final Savasana relaxation- otherwise, your mind may be racing with too much energy to relax.

Sources:

BKS Iyengar; Light on Yoga

Martin Kirk, Brooke Boon and Daniel DiTuro; Hatha Yoga Illustrated

Yoga Journal Pose Gallery; http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/browse_categories