Anonymous asked: What are tips to having better posture?
Good question!
To begin, let’s go over how to stand with good posture. Start by pulling your shoulders back and down your spine. Don’t squeeze them together, just bring them in line with your neck and slightly down. Think open collar bones. Next, take any “banana curve” out of your back by tucking your tailbone. Again, not so much that your hips are jutting out forward, just enough to straighten and lengthen your spine. By bringing your shoulders and hips in line, you will feel your abs engage. This is a good thing. Last but not least, make sure that your head is sitting on top of your spine. Look at your profile in a mirror. Your neck should be straight, not too far forward or back. When your head is correctly aligned on top of your spine, you will also feel your abs slightly engage. And since we’re mentioning abs, it’s much easier to have better posture if they are strong. Having a strong core = better posture. When your yoga teacher leads you to lower and lift in boat pose, it’s not to be cruel. It’s to help you by strengthening your core.
Make sure to practice these alignments in your yoga as well. When you inhale up to Tadasana (Standing Arm Reach) make sure that your shoulders are back and down your spine, your chest is open and your tail bone is tucked. When you inhale up to a flat back within a standing forward bend, really make it a FLAT back. Look forward, focus on lengthening your spine out, and sending your shoulders back and down. By practicing these cues in all of your poses, from your warriors, to your twists, to your tree, they will start to feel more natural. Bringing better alignment into your yoga helps bring it into daily life.
Last, but not least, go about your day imagining a string going from your heels all the way up your legs, spine and out the top of your head. If someone was to pull the string from above, that is how you should stand. When you are sitting, imagine the string starting at your tailbone and going out the top of your head. Sit upright, as if someone was pulling the string. And don’t forget to open your chest!
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