5 Yoga Poses to Fix Bad Posture
Bad posture is something that so many people deal with on a daily basis.
Whether this be because you’ve spent way too long hunched over your computer at work or if you have bad posture when you’re driving in the car, this is definitely something that you’ve got to address eventually. Without figuring out how to improve your bad posture, you could find yourself with some terrible chronic back and neck pain in the future. A bad posture is not only bad for health but it affects your confidence level too, therefore, you should follow yoga as a ritual to improve life for better.
Yoga has been used for centuries as a way to fix posture problems, release pain from your body, and center yourself on the most important things in life. Yoga is also a fantastic way to get rid of any stress that may be consuming you and help you focus on your poses. There are some main poses that you should remember when you are wanting to improve your posture. Down below, you’re going to learn about the top five yoga asanas (or poses) that you should try out to get your posture to where it should be. Keep reading below!
1. Mountain Pose
First up, we have one of the most basic and popular yoga asanas that everyone who is practicing yoga should know. The mountain pose is the first pose you should do during every yoga session because it’s going to ground you in yourself and let you do a full body scan. You will start off in a standing position with your hands down at your sides and your feet planted firmly on the ground. Start analyzing your entire body by seeing how your feet feel, moving up through your legs and up your torso. You’ll end back at your head and you’ll understand exactly where your pain points are and understand how your body feels. From this position, you will be able to move into any other position on this list.
2. Downward Facing Dog
The next asana on our list is one that you’ve probably heard quite a bit about and that’s for good reason! Downward facing dog is fantastic to stretch out your spine, open up your shoulders, and help to release that pain and tension in your back and neck. This pose is one that you should complete during every yoga session that you have.
You’re going to start off in the mountain pose and then slowly bring your hands down beside of your feet. Push your feet out behind you until you’re in a plank pose. Then, you can slowly raise your bottom into the air until you are in an upside-down “V” formation. Feel the stretch in your back and be sure to open up your shoulders to really feel that tension release. You can move your feet and hands back and forth to find the position that works the best for your body.
Make sure that you stand up slowly, as one jerk on the spine or knee can cost you a lot! If you do experience pain of some sort, don’t shy away from visiting a chiropractor for advice.
3. Cobra Pose
Next up, we have one of the other best poses for your spine and neck. This one is seriously going to help out your posture! The cobra pose is going to start out with you laying stomach-down on the ground with your palms placed down beside of your head. You will then lift your upper torso and look towards the sky with your head. Make sure that you have your elbows aligned with your shoulders for extra support.
Don’t push yourself too hard with this one as that can lead to some dangerous injuries. Just gently push your upper torso up into the air and see how far you can push your body. You can hold this for as long as you would like until you come back down and move onto your next pose or give this one a try again.
4. Cow Face Pose
Next up, we have a uniquely named pose that’s going to seriously help out with your back posture and release any pain that you may be feeling. This asana is pretty intense, so be careful that you get the pose right and you don’t do too much stretching. However, if you do this pose right, it’s going to seriously open up your chest and help to stretch out those back muscles.
You conduct this pose in a sitting position with your back super straight. Reach with your left hand up and down your back. Then, take your right hand and bring it around your back and reach up to your left hand. If you can’t reach your hands together and grab them, then you can use a belt to complete the pose. Hold this for as long as is comfortable before moving onto the next pose.
5. Plank Pose
Lastly, we’re going to talk about one of the ultimate poses for your posture. If you’ve spent most of your days hunched over a computer, then you should definitely have this pose as part of your toolbox. One of the main reasons why this slouching might be happening is because you don’t have the core strength to keep your back straight. Many people don’t know that your posture seriously depends on how strong your core is.
The plank pose is going to help you get that core strength up. You just start off in a push-up pose and hold that pose for however long you can. You are going to feel some serious strain in your core, but this is going to help strengthen it in the long-run.
If you are trying to improve your posture, you might think that the only solution is to go to an expensive chiropractor. However, that’s not true at all. You can improve your posture by just trying out some new yoga asanas as part of your routine! The above five are the top ones for improving your posture, but there are so many others out there to add to your routine. Which will you try?