Ten Ways to Facilitate Inversion at Home
Our vestibular system is our internal GPS. It gives us information about movement and where our head is positioned in relation to gravity. If children have difficulty modulating or discriminating vestibular input, they may seek it out in an attempt to organize their nervous systems and improve their body awareness. Inverting the head (into an upside-down position) is an intense form of vestibular input that some children may benefit from in order to increase their registration of vestibular input. Plus it has the added side effect of sending all of the blood to your head which is good for detoxing and lymph drainage and it helps to trigger a parasympathetic (rest and digest) response.
- Animal Walks:
- bear walk: all fours (no knees), tummy to ground
- inch worms: all fours (no knees), walk hands out 4x, walk feet in 4x
- Yoga Poses: incorporate into Freeze Dance or Red Light Green Light (i.e. every time your child freezes or stops, call out a yoga pose to do)
- Downward Facing Dog: all fours with legs straight, create upside-down V shape with buttocks in the air, look down between legs
- Three-legged Dog: same as above, lift one leg in the air
- Cat: all fours, round back, and tuck chin into chest
- Ragdoll: standing forward bend with arms towards floor
- Hanging Upside Down
- across adult’s lap or while being held in an adult’s arms
- over the edge of the couch or bed
- from a playground bar or trapeze bar
- Somersaults (forwards or backwards) and Cartwheels
- Laying on belly over a yoga ball to draw, complete a puzzle, or complete other fine motor tasks.
- Laying on back over the yoga ball (with adult assistance) to reach for items (i.e. puzzle pieces, clothespins, or balls).
- Have your child move back to an upright seated position on top of the ball. To make this more difficult, don’t let your child use their arms to come up! You can play hangman, throw balls at targets, etc.
- Backwards Bowling
- Have your child bend forward and roll the ball under their legs to knock over pins, water bottles, etc.
- Back-to-back Passing
- Have two children stand back-to-back. Have them pass a ball or balloon over head and bend forward to pass the ball under their legs to one another.
- Throw & Catch
- Have your child stand with feet hip distance apart and balls or beanbags in a laundry basket underneath them. Have them bend forward, grab the object, and return to standing to throw to you. Afterwards, switch roles and have them catch objects thrown to them. When they catch the object, have them bend forward and place it in the laundry basket underneath them.
- Moving Over Pillows
- Setup two pillows, one in front of the other, on one end of the room. While facing forward, cue your child to walk over the pillows. When they reach the second pillow, cue them to bend forward and reach under their legs to grab the first pillow. Have them put the first pillow in front of the second. Repeat until they make it to the other side!