According to the Southern California Orthopedic Institute, good posture is vital to keep the body properly aligned to prevent over-stressing the bones and muscles within the back. Improper posture can cause the disks within the vertebrae to compress, which can cause back pain as well as shortening your overall height. Yoga incorporates stretching exercises to keep the vertebrae flexible as well as to train your body to maintain proper posture.
Sitting Positioin - Sukhasana
This yoga exercise strengthens the muscles within the lower back as well as stretching the muscles and joints within the hip/groin region. By opening up the hips, you will relieve pressure from the impact joints within this area of the body. Because this exercise focuses on proper posture, it will train the back muscles to keep the spine in ideal alignment. To begin this exercise, sit on a pillow with your legs crossed. Your hips will be slightly elevated above your knees, which will allow those who are not very flexible to achieve the proper posture within this yoga move. Place your hands on your knees and straighten your spine. Visualize the vertebrae stacking on top of each other to create a straight line from the top of your neck down to your tailbone. As you push your buttocks into the pillow, lower your knees further toward the floor. Deeply inhale and exhale five times and on the sixth inhale raise both of your arms above your head and point your palms toward each other. This movement will further stretch the spine. As you exhale, slowly lower your arms back down and place your hands on your knees. Repeat this movement seven times.
Standing Position- Mountain Pose and Standing Yoga Seal (Dandayamana Yoga Mudrasana)
This yoga movement utilizes two different poses in order to fully stretch the spine and promote proper posture. The first of these movements is Mountain Pose, or Tadasana. To begin this pose, stand with your feet together and place your hands by your sides with your palms touching the outer thighs. Find your balance, lift your toes off of the ground and spread them apart before placing the toes back on the ground. As you tilt the pubic bone forward, slightly raise your chest forward to promote proper spine alignment; however, make sure you do not strain this movement. Lengthen the neck, gently raising the head as high as it can go. Breathe deeply for several seconds and then as you exhale raise your arms above your head so your fingers are pointing toward the ceiling. Hold this position for several seconds, making sure to keep breathing steady and deep.
As you lower your arms back down to your sides, spread the legs so the feet are at least three feet apart. As your inhale, gently bring your arms behind your back and interlace your fingers while bringing your shoulder blades close together and lifting the chest. Bring your eyes up toward the ceiling and breathe deeply for several seconds. As you exhale, keep the legs straight and hinge your upper body toward the floor, leading with your chest. Only bend as far as you comfortably can and with your fingers still interlaced, bring your arms forward to create a straight line from your neck to your hands. Hold this position for five breaths before gently lifting the upper body back into the standing position and releasing the hands to bring your arms back to your sides.
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