Your posture says a lot about your personality. But that’s not where it ends; your posture says a lot about how your muscles and joints are functioning. Your posture determines how you look and feel. Despite being told several times the importance of good posture, most of us pay no heed to it or even try to improve it. A bad posture can be dangerous for your muscles and joints. Bad posture can result in ligament imbalances thereby making you walk around with hunched backs and imbalanced hips. Here are 7 yoga poses or asanas you could do to correct your body posture.
A. Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
First things first, this pose teaches you how you should be standing. Most of us slouch our shoulders or stand with a slight tilt in our hips. Tadasana is a challenging pose as it requires the whole body to be engaged. Stand with you feet about hip distance wide and parallel to each other, with your toes pointing forward. Your chin should be parallel to the floor and the crown of your head is directly over the center of your pelvis. Tighten your quads, calves and slightly pull your tailbone inwards. Make sure your shoulders are wide, relaxed and at the same level. Now, raise your arms over you head, shoulder wide apart. Hold in this position for a minute.
B. Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
Balancing poses is difficult if you tend to slouch a lot. When we slouch, we put our weight forward making us hard to carry ourselves. In Vrksasana, we learn to stand tall and balanced all time. Stand straight and put your body weight and balance onto your right foot. Now, lift your left foot and place it on your right leg’s calf or inner thigh. Try to balance yourself in this position, once you attain balance, raise your hands to your chest with a namaste. Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed. Your chin should be parallel to the floor and your head straight, keep your eyes fixed on a point straight in front of you. Hold this position for a minute and repeat with the other leg.
C. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
In this asana, you can feel your spine lengthen as your bend forward to your feet. This asana is best performed immediately after Tadasana. Rest your hands on your hips, exhale and bend down from the hip joints and not your waist. Pull in your belly, tighten your abdominals and let you torso go as deep as possible below. Keeping your knees straight, place your palms on the floor, beside your feet. You can also hold your ankles with your palms. To modify this movement, cross your forearms and hold your elbows while you’re still bending forward.
D. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
Bhujangasana gently stretches the spine and reverses rounded shoulders, upper backs. Lie down on your stomach flat on the floor. Tighten your back muscles and lift your head, chest and upper torso. Align your elbows below your shoulders, spread your chest wide and relax your shoulders. Keep your head slightly tilted upwards and hold this position for a minute.
E. Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose)
Cow Face Pose is an intense chest and shoulder asana which stretches all your muscles. It helps relieve tightness in your muscles after long hours of driving or desk-work. Keep your back straight and raise your left arm and bend it behind your back. Now, reach you right hand to meet your left one from below as shown in the picture. Join your hands and clasp them together. Keep your head held high and look straight in front of you. Hold for 1 minute and repeat with alternate sides.
F. Virasana (Hero’s Pose)
Virasana helps to inculcate a good body posture while sitting. Sit on your heels with your chest and torso wide and straight. The crown of your head must be directly parallel to the floor. If your heels hurt, place a cushion or a pillow. If you have knee issues or problems, this asana is not for you.
G. Balasana (Child’s Pose)
Balasana or Child’s Pose is the resting pose. Sit back on your heels and reach your arms out in front of you or bring them alongside your body towards your feet into a tiny little ball.