Originally Published On 10/6/2020

Back Pain & Inversion Therapy

According to a 2014 study by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, up to one-quarter of Americans experience low-back pain every year. This may be due to a plethora of reasons yet our habits and lifestyles are one of the leading causes.

If you are one of the many people who tend to work a lot, or simply just need to work a lot, your posture might be the least of your concern because, to be honest, in the hustle and bustle of the modern world, getting things done is probably the only constantly important thing that we can all relate to.

For some, that pain becomes chronic, a condition that costs the United States at least $100 billion per year. Why wait for the day that you may need to spend a huge amount of money? Attend to it as soon as possible!

In this blog, we will be talking about aerial yoga inversion therapy, how it works, the benefits you could get from it, who should do it, and where can you get the best yoga equipment for the job.

 

“Mechanized & Computerized”

As you can imagine, we’ve become less active for longer periods each day. We can describe the world we live in as being “Mechanized & Computerized.” A lot of our tasks can be done with the push of a few buttons or a few clicks on the computer — that easy! Although it is indeed very productive and lets us finish a lot of tasks, it also lessens the need for us to exert physical effort in order to get things done.

Do not get us wrong because we are not against modernization, especially in the workforce, but if you are a part of the greater population, we highly recommend that you get yourself some break, especially the literal backbone of our bodies: The Spine.

We’re often sitting hunched over our desks or commuting to and from work. Therefore, it causes our stomach, hip muscles, and inter-vertebral joints/ligaments to become weak from inactivity.

Its our job to help ourselves and take care of our bodies so we can continue to function well inside and outside the workplace. Importantly, second only to Headaches, back pain is the most common neurological ailment in the USA.

As we said, this may be due to several factors that we can definitely change or modify so working and hustling would not be at the expense of sacrificing our health, especially in the long run.

In addition, back pain is the biggest cause of job-related disability. We would not want to under-perform in our jobs, would we? Getting yourself a hobby or a recreation, especially outside and unrelated to the workplace, is proven to have favorable effects not only on our body but on our emotional and mental well-being too.

 

Gravity’s Persistent Downward Pull

If you think that there are only human-caused factors, then there are also those that are natural to our habitat: The Earth.

Our planet Earth’s persistent gravitational downward pull affects spinal alignment resulting in discomfort, poor posture, and sometimes injury. It is already a constant in, literally, the world and we can only aid it by practicing better habits and finding ways to use it to our advantage.

You wouldn’t suspect it, but sitting also places higher loads inside the lumbar disc than standing (between 150 to 250% depending on posture).

All this can lead to compression of the vertebral disks, often causing pinched nerves and leading to issues such as Sciatica. This is what then results in chronic back pain that affects our daily performance and capabilities.

 

The Antigravity Magic

This is where Swing Inversion Therapy comes to the rescue!

Swing Inversion Therapy is a part of the greater field of Aerial Yoga. Although you can do it independently, we highly assure you that it would be more enjoyable and productive if you do them together. Also, you can never really know, but you might discover parts of your body that are needing the aid of aerial yoga!

Firstly, the healing benefits of Inversion Therapy to the muscular-skeletal system are well documented.

Among these are:

1. Decrease inflammation in the spine
2. Increase the blood circulation in the surrounding muscles
3. Detox the spine of accumulated wastes
4. Promote the production of protective fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) around the spine

There is an enormous amount of evidence that a compressed disc can be aided by back inversion therapy.

Secondly, giving your body the opportunity to traction and realign with Inversion Therapy can assist all the systems of the body to function more effectively.

According to healthline – there are more potential benefits of doing inversion therapy:

1. Reduce back pain
2. Improve spinal health
3. Increase flexibility
4. Minimize the risk for surgery especially in the future

Like we have been saying, the number one reason we are doing inversion is to reduce back pain. Staying upright for quite a long time every single day definitely puts a lot of pressure into our spine.

Inversion therapy helps decompress our spine and the surrounding muscles, literally allowing these to take a breather and let gravity do the work for them even for a short time.

We also believe that consistency yields the best results and produces the most disciplined students and aerial yoga practitioners. In keeping the consistency, your spinal health would significantly increase in a positive manner because your spine gets scheduled rest and is not doing all the work, 24/7.

A well-rested spine also makes for a greater overall flexibility. If you will notice, our bodies feel so stiff after staying stagnant for even just a few hours. It makes us feel the need for some much needed stretch or even an entire workout session but the only catch is that you do not really have that much energy too.

In aerial yoga inversion, not only have we stretched out our backs in a creative and unique manner, we have also tapped into our inner energy to be utilized for more tasks.

 

Can you do Aerial Yoga Inversion Therapy?

In a general view, anyone can do Inversion Therapy even if they simply just want to. This would provide diversity in the aerial yoga group that will then lead to, hopefully, a chain of kindness that results to a more therapeutic session overall.

Aerial Yoga Inversion Therapy works best for people who are:

1.  Working for long hours standing or sitting
2. Those who have desk jobs
3. Have poor posture and is prone to slouching
4. Experiencing pressure on their back
5. As prescribed by a physician

Yes, you have heard that right! Inversion therapy is also recommended by doctors as one of the practices to aid on a various of conditions especially if the patient is asking for alternatives and what they can do to improve their lifestyle. They would be lucky to have discovered aerial yoga so don’t waste your time and join us now!

Do not think twice about giving your back the rest it deserves for being such a #carry all our lives!

 

You don’t need any bulky & boring inversion table!

With regular practice with the aid of the Gravotonics Yoga Swing, you can begin to reverse the effects of gravity, improving postural alignment easily at any age!

Plus you can do it without requiring any special strength, balancing skills, flexibility, or agility. All you need is the will, goal, and determination to achieve the goals that you set for yourself after every session of this activity.

The yoga swing provides a flexible and versatile means of support for the practitioner allowing for partial and full (180-degree) inversions. Opposed to what you might think, this practice does not require you all that much, just a high-quality yoga swing and mat can take you places unreachable by the other workout options you have encountered.

There is no need to buy expensive ones if there are: (1) reasonable price and is a good investment in the long run (with maintenance, of course), (2) something new for a lot of people’s eyes that can be personalized so it is not just for you, it can also be a way for you to invite your family and friends into this wholesome new hobby!

There is no need for any table of any sort. Trust us when we say that this yoga equipment is all in one and will cater to all that you will need especially as you try to execute inversion. A bulky and boring inversion therapy table could be much more expensive compared to a yoga swing. A yoga swing comprises of handles that you can grasp on as we teach you a few of these poses in our other publications.

If you are just a beginner, we recommend you getting a yoga swing because of the handles considering that you will still have to work on your grasping and overall stamina. A yoga hammock would also do the same, but since it does not have any handles, you might find it hard to grip on it alone.

 

Aerial Yoga is a great muscle-strengthening exercise

Going back, subsequently, hunching or slouching inevitably puts a painful strain on the back muscles trying to hold us erect. It is important to also keep in mind that it is not only the bones that are affected by improper posture, but our muscles as well.

Further, most doctors agree that most back problems are caused by weak muscles. The answer to that: muscle strengthening and recovery.

You might think, “Isn’t muscle strengthening hard to do?”, “I work for long hours, I don’t really have the time for exercising or working out.”, or “Exercising might consume the energy I am saving for work so I’d rather not.”

But wait, what if we can give you a good option without having to compromise your ability to work?

In aerial yoga, we literally stretch through and beyond our known boundaries because we are elevated from the ground, meaning we would be able to execute more complex poses that are not, at least easily, possible with the traditional floor yoga, and this allows us to strengthen in different ways too.

Aerial yoga comprises asanas ranging from the basics up to the most complex ones that you often see in advertisements. If you are a beginner, do not worry because we would definitely not start you up on those poses.

You would be advised to do easy poses first like those of aerial downward dog, corpse pose, aerial tree pose, aerial dove pose, etc. As you progress, you would definitely come to the point when you are stretching and strengthening with ease and feeling much better throughout your entire body.

Did you know? Aerial yoga is a workout that promotes energy production! Yes! Aerial yoga by in its entirety is an energy-channeling and producing activity. With the execution of even just a few poses, you would suddenly find yourself getting all hyped up again!

In our young age, assuming that we are still not yet in our 60s, it is with absolute certainty that taking care of our body, especially in exercising and having a healthy lifestyle greatly impacts the way we would be living when we grow older?

By this, we are saying that having a healthy body and mindset could decrease the need for surgery(s) in the future simply because you are being consistent in self-care. We hopefully wish that you do these and try out aerial yoga inversion.

 

Choose wisely, choose Gravotonics!

The Gravotonics Yoga Swing is a complete exercise, Yoga, Pilates and osteopathic therapy alignment device.

You can use the yoga swing for gentle, passive traction of the neck, and lumbar/sacrum to provide astonishing pain relief.

These are the parts of our bodies that absolutely absorbs all the work and carrying all throughout the day.

You can also carry out lower back strengthening exercises to heal lower back pain/injuries and is perfect for rehabilitation, recovery from or avoidance of surgery.

Get your own yoga swing today and just a few minutes of traction a day keeps the physical therapist away!