Author: Randeep Singh / go to all articles on Yoga cure
Yoga for good posture:
Simply put posture is the positioning of the body of the being in space, in a way that makes its existence possible.
Every being is composed of various body organ systems which need to be positioned in a certain natural way, so that they can function individually and relative to each other, in order to achieve the natural purpose of maintaining the being’s existence. Yoga for good posture helps one achieve this.
When having a correct posture is so natural then why do we slump into a bad posture at all? Our body is the projection of our mind, a weak and overburdened mind, due to the preponderance of tamas guna in it out of the three gunas, reflects itself in a stooped over body posture. Wrong sitting and standing styles by habit, ubiquitous use of the supposedly modern life sustaining gadgets like the computer, mobile phone which requires the body to be in a certain formation for them to function, sedentary lifestyle which promotes underuse of the posture supporting muscles are some of the contributors to a bad posture.
The good news is that one can achieve a better posture with yoga, also known as posture correction yoga, at any time and stage of life, This apart from some other benefits yoga can offer. whenever one realises or is forced to realise the importance of a good posture. Let us run through the benefits of having the right posture in order to understand the gravity of what we would be at loss of in case we do not possess it.
Benefits of having a good posture
A better aligned body parts in relation to each other can help us avoid a lot of malfunctions or diseases in the long run. Stomach can only remain healthy if it gets enough room to function. A stooped over spine can press the lower chest onto the stomach, squeeze restricting its pulsations so very necessary for a healthy digestion.
A properly lifted chest increase room for better breathing, knowledge of time measure in pranayam help increase the expandability quotient of the chest better. Gaining a correct standing posture infuses confidence and sense of power into the bearer on its own. A head held high and vertically over the neck and the erect spine increases the blood supply to the brain – consumer of the largest amount of oxygen inhaled- boosting the concentration and memory functions along with generating a sense of calm in the mind.
A good posture entails proper alignments of the weight bearing joints which is crucial to their efficient working which help keep the related pain away. For the self image conscious people a body held in a proper posture adds inches to the height and elevates the mood of the bearer.
The treatments provided by a chiropractor or an osteopath rely a lot on realigning the bones into a correct posture.
Yoga for posture correction?
How does yoga improves the posture more effectively than any other techniques? The answer is because yoga works on the person from inside out; the mind as well as the body because body just stands as a physical representation of the mind. The techniques of Ashtanga Yoga are the most effective form of yoga for posture correction.
One can attain a better posture with yoga? For attaining the right standing posture or sitting in the right posture certain muscle groups has to be flexible, at the same time strong enough to hold the skeletal frame in the right form. Yoga can help one achieve both flexibility and the strength in the same muscle at the same time.
Most of us have weak ankles ( leading to a unstable walk), weak calves and quadriceps for holding the knees in the right position, tight hips which over tilt the pelvis forward accentuating the lower back arch, weak upper back and neck muscles, all contributing to a wrongly held posture.
Here we have mentioned a series of Yoga asanas to improve your posture. Take a simple posture test assess the degree of aberration your body shows from the ideal posture. Apart from the Yoga poses take all the Yoga techniques mentioned here together as they are crucial to forming a effective posture corrector regime.
Always begin learning yoga from a qualified yoga teacher. knowing the qualities of a good yoga teacher can equip one for making the right selection, keeping one’s mind open while learning yoga can actually help the teacher to divulge more information to the learner than otherwise.
Also, in case one decides to attempt these technique at on their own know the common postural mistakes for yoga at home practice in order to avoid them.
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