Yoga for better posture

Who wants to think about posture?  Why can’t we just sit at the computer all day hunched over.  Because…eventually you will not be able to go outside and sit on the beach comfortably.  You will not be able to take a jog along the beach because your joints will be stiff.  What we do now effects how we live our lives in the future.  It is about prevention!  My yoga teacher says, “we do not do yoga to be perfect, we do yoga to live our lives more fully.”  

So how does yoga affect posture and therefore prevent pain?  Each pose has an effect on our overall posture, the way we sit, stand, and move.  Each pose teaches us how to do these actions correctly. For example you may have discovered while practicing Supta Padangusthasana , that it lengthens the hamstrings. Longer hamstrings allow the pelvis to be in a neutral upright position while we sit. If the hamstrings are tight, they pull the sacrum back and cause our lumbar spine to round, which puts pressure on the front of our lumbar vertebrae.  An neutral upright pelvis is so important for good posture, in fact it is the basis for good posture.

 If the body is in perfect postural alignment, sitting, standing, and moving becomes effortless.  Our bodies were made to sit, stand, and move with grace and ease.  Good postural alignment will allow us to live a life without pain.  A life where we can continue to go to the beach and sit in the sand with our loves ones.

The pose of the month is perfect for gaining better posture!  And I bet you have done it before.

Love Shauna