Improve Your Body Posture With These 7 Yoga Poses

Today’s modern and stressed lifestyle is affecting our health in a lot of ways. Sitting all day in front of a computer or desk not only affects your eyes, but it also affects other parts of the body.

Bad posture can bring you some serious issues like cardiovascular issues, back pain, digestion issues, and it can change the curve of your spine that will further affect your overall body shape and will lead you to a whole new level of unbearable back pain.

On the other hand, a good body posture improves your digestion, circulation, breathing as well as it keeps your joints and muscles in top notch condition. Your body’s posture depends upon the way you sit, stand, and sleep.

How can you improve your body posture? The answer is doing yoga regularly. Yoga includes stretching of muscles which helps in alignment of spine and vertebrae. It brings your shoulder blades together and closer to the spine. Yoga also helps in relaxing your mind as it brings the body into the relaxed state.

So, here the top 7 yoga poses that can improve your body posture:

1. Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

This is an ideal standing position. This position makes you sense your body while standing in a perfect vertical alignment position.

• Stand straight and keep a small gap between your feet.
• Engage your quads, calves, and toes then tuck in your tailbone a little bit.
• Have your shoulders relaxed and wide.
• Take a deep breath, interlock your fingers and raise your hands.
• Now, raise your heels and make sure body weight is on your toes.
• Feel the stretch in your whole body from your feet to the head and hold onto this position as long as you can.
• Exhale slowly and come back to the original position.

While doing this pose remember not to push out your shoulder too far back and don’t stick out your chest. That is not the correct way to perform this pose.

2. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)

This pose will rejuvenate and energize your body. It will wake up your hamstrings and soothe your mind.

• Stand in Tadasana and rest your hand on hips. Bend forward from your hip joints. Remember to bend forward from hip joints and not from the waist.
• To counterbalance the weight of your body as your body moves forward, push your hips and tailbone slightly back.
• Place your hand on the ground, right next to the feet. Your feet should be parallel to each other.
• Now, extend from your hip bone and feel the fold. Also, as your lower back stretches towards the mat, make sure you are not feeling it from the rounding of you back, else you are doing it wrong.
• Extend your knees so that you can feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Pull your thighs inward and root yourself into heels.
• Your head must be in a dangling position such that crown reaches the floor. Hold this pose for a few seconds or a minute and then release slowly.

3. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

Bhujangasana opens the chest and stretches the spine, reversing the upper back and rounded shoulders. Along with that it also strengthens your arms.

• Lay down on your body in a straight position and rest your hands beneath the shoulders.
• Spread out the fingers and push down evenly to lift your chest, neck, and head off the mat.
• Without putting the strain on your neck, squeeze your elbows tight to the side body and tuck the chin slightly.
• Hold in that position for a while or three to five breaths. Repeat this for two to three rounds.

4. Ustrasana (Camel Pose)

Camel pose opens your throat, shoulders, and heart. There are many variations of camel pose, but we will focus on the two most common camel poses.

• For the first variation, press your palms into the lower back to protect the lumbar spine.
• Push your hips forward, lift the heart, and gaze up while keeping your thighs active and the shoulders apart from the ears.
• Hold this position for three breaths and then steadily come out.
• When the first variation ends, the second variation starts. It brings the backbend into a much deeper position, using one hand at a time to reach and grab the heels.
• Keep the thighs active and press the hips forward.
• Maintain this position for three breaths.

5. Plank Pose

Plank pose builds your core strength which is a big part required to maintain good posture.

• Spread out your fingers and keep the distance of your feet hips width apart.
• Push away from the floor using your hands while keeping your legs and thighs in a straight position.
• Lift up your hips to bring them in line with shoulders.
• Maintain this position as long as you can. At first, you might be able to hold that position for around 15-30 seconds. Try to make it a full minute by practicing every day.

6. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)

It opens your hamstrings, back, chest, and shoulders along with strengthening your arms, and core.

• Start with plank pose. Then press the hips in an outward direction away from the mat and push your chest towards the thighs.
• Heels should be a hip-width distance apart.
• Weight should be distributed evenly through hands, and fingers should be spread out widely.
• Relax your neck and head, keep the shoulders away from ears.
• Maintain this position up to a full minute.

7. Vrikshasana (Tree Pose)

As the name suggests, tree pose replicates the firm stance of a tree.

• Stand straight and shift your balance on to the right foot.
• Place the left sole of your foot on to the inner thigh of the right foot.
• Hold on to this position and bring your hands towards the chest.
• Keep your head and shoulders relaxed.
• Maintain this position for 1 minute and repeat on the other side.

Keep on doing the above yoga poses regularly and your posture will improve.

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