Relax & Renew: Leg Drain Pose

Leg drain- Viparita Karani Here is the great mother of all restorative yoga postures. It combines the benefits of corpse pose (savasana) with the gifts of a gentle inversion. This posture promotes rest. It will help drain any blood or lymph that has pooled in your legs, ankles, and feet, and gently lengthens the hamstrings. The floor provides a valuable feedback loop allowing the spine to lengthen and stretch with maximum support. The sacrum is flattened to complete a graceful full-spinal extension while the lungs are freed to empty and fill with ease, which is especially important when you are getting further along in pregnancy. Folded blankets may be used beneath the sacrum or under the length of the spine to provide support and enhance a deeper union with the breath.

How to do it: Bring your hips flush with the wall, lie on your left side, send your right leg up the wall and rolling onto your back, slide the left leg up to meet the right. Your hips can be flush with the wall at 90 degrees or slightly away creating a 45 degree angle with the legs. Close your eyes and relax your shoulders, and breathe deeply. Stay here for a minimum of 5 minutes. If you hang out here for 20 minutes, its equivalent to taking a two hour nap! * You are welcome to practice this pose up until 36 weeks, after that point it is advised not to enter this pose because of the pressure that might be placed on the vena cava*