3 Yoga Moves to Boost a Bad Mood When You’re Cranky!

• Fitness
• How-To
• Inspiration

When you’re having one of those days and you just can’t seem to shake a bad mood, try these 3 yoga poses to get yourself out of your funk. I’m lucky I’ve been super happy throughout my pregnancy; but last week’s super high heat had me a little cranky! I’m still doing these poses preggers as well. If you’re expecting (or these poses are too difficult in general), you can do legs up the wall instead of headstand, camel instead of full wheel if it bothers you, and boat pose or any other challenging pose for you right now.

Go Upside Down with Headstand: One thing you can do to get out of a bad mood, is switch you perspective by turning upside down. Headstand is one of my favorite poses, it’s like flipping a switch in the brain and letting all the blood flow in to the head.

Start on your hands and knees, place your elbows on the floor and interlace your fingers. Place the crown of your head at the heels of your hands and press firmly in to your forearms. The majority of the weight should be in the arms not the head and neck. Tuck your feet under and walk them in as close as you can before lifting them up one at a time or pulling both knees in to your chest then pressing them skyward. Hold 5 to 8 breaths before slowly and carefully lowering back down. If headstand is too challenging for you, standing forward bend has the same effects. Once you’re back upright, you’ll have a new attitude!

Open Up Your Heart with Wheel Pose: Sometimes when we’re in a bad mood, we just need to take a deeper breath and oxygenate our body. Backbends are great heart openers and they really boost our spirits. 

Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the mat. Take your hands back by your ears, fingertips facing forward and press in to your hands and feet to lift your torso in to a full wheel. Hold and breathe for 5 to 8 breaths then lower back down. You can repeat 2 more times if you wish. It will also get your heart rate up which energizes us and helps with crankiness. If full wheel is too tough, do a half wheel instead to reap the benefits.

Challenge Yourself with Crow Pose: One of the best ways to quit being cranky, is to challenge yourself. When you hold yourself in a crazy arm balance, you gain confidence and courage and it helps you break your negative thinking. 

Start in a squat position, place your hands on the floor shoulder width apart and lift your hips high. Bend your elbows straight back and squeeze your upper outer arms (or place your knees in your armpits), engage your core, and lift your feet up off the floor. When you take flight, you automatically lift your spirits. Try and hold for 5 breaths and come down to rest when you need. Place a pillow in front of you for a crash pad and even if you topple forward it may just make you laugh and definitely come out of your bad mood. If crow is too hard, try and yoga pose that challenges you—even Tree Pose.

Kristin

Kristin McGee is a celebrity yoga and Pilates instructor in New York City. She is currently teaching yoga with Peloton. She is the star of over 100 videos, seen in several magazines and tv shows and is a spokeswoman for many brands and causes she believes in. A proud mom to three, she sure keeps herself busy!