- Would you like to improve your posture but finding it really hard to narrow down the right moves for your particular postural habits?
- Perhaps you are not sure what you should be working on? For example, should you focus on trying to fix your text neck or maybe you should work on the slumping shoulders?
- What if there were some cool yoga moves which will help you achieve better posture without any fuss?
I have 3 easy yoga poses which will do just that. If you prefer watching over reading scroll down to the end where I have put a link to a tutorial video I made just for you on this topic.
The 3 easy yoga poses for better posture and why they work.
My 3 easy yoga poses for better posture are:
- constructive rest,
- Wake up your feet pose
- Balance a book on your head pose (yes it is a real pose, ha ha).
They are not magic bullet moves, but they are as close as you are going to get. Let me demonstrate this by asking you to join me in a little exercise.
I want you to sit or stand up straight. Imagine someone has asked you to sit or stand with better posture.
That’s it. Do it now and hold the position.
Now ask yourself the following.
- Did you stiffen up?
- Have you stopped breathing?
- Are you holding any tension in your body or squeezing any particular muscles or body part more than usual?
Did you answer yes to any of the above? Don’t be shy as I can really resonate with this and a few years ago I would answer yes to all of the above.
The one thing I have really learnt over the years (with the help of some fantastic teachers), the more we try and ‘force‘ our bodies into a better posture the worse it can get. Sometimes our own perceptions of what we think we are doing isn’t actually what we are doing!
For instance, if someone tells us to pull our shoulders back, when we do it (because we are holding tension in and around our body) we may pull another part of our body out of alignment without realising. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for working on our ‘bad’ posture spots but we have to do it intelligently and mindfully and it helps if you have teacher or knowledgable friend to guide and/or watch what you are doing.
Achieving Better Posture – the Easy Way
Today I want to give you another approach which will help you without the need for a watchful eye. We are going to utilise the ‘super power’ of gravity.
The 3 easy poses for better posture below do just that and will help you improve your alignment without too much effort.
Correcting posture is simply a matter or reorganising the tissues and bones. When we create a sense of release and softness in the body we can help this process along. Add in the effects of gravity and you have a powerful way of improving your body’s alignment. Being an overthinker, these moves have been really beneficial for me as you don’t really need to try too hard. In my experience, overthinking causes rigidity, which as we have seen above, makes it difficult to correct your postural tendencies.
Constructive Rest
Benefits of This Restorative Easy Yoga Pose for Better Posture
Welcome to the first of the 3 easy poses for better posture. The combination of gravity and lying on the floor helps to re-establish the spine’s natural curves. The beauty is all you have to do is just lie there and enjoy! You will need a yoga mat for this (but you can just do it on a carpeted floor).
How to Do It
- Lie down with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor.
- Support the head if necessary, with a folded blanket. Make sure your chin is level (perpendicular to the floor).
- Start to settle the back into the floor without forcing any part of it.
- Take a few breaths here so that the body starts to relax.
- Connect with the four corners of the feet. Notice if you press more into the big toe mound, little toe mound or inner or outer heel. What happens if you try and get a more even connection?
- Now notice what happens to the rest of the body as you continue to relax the feet down evenly. Maybe you notice some changes to how your pelvis and shoulders connect to the floor?
- Stay here and continue to relax, breathe and observe. Aim for 10-20 minutes.
Tips:
If the back of your arms are off the floor use a folded blanket, cushion or yoga block to place under them. Check your head position when you do this too so that you are always aligned beautifully. The chin should not stick up or down. As the shoulders open you will find that the backs of the shoulders will gradually sink down.
Wake Up Your Feet Pose
Benefits of this Gravity Loving Move for Better Posture
Good posture starts from the feet up. This pose has a number of benefits. It will help you find your centre of gravity by teaching you where you are putting your weight on your feet. It will also wake up your arches which help support better posture.
How to Do It
- Find two firm yoga bricks and place them one behind the other (lengthways) on your mat.
- Stand on them so that the heels of your feet are on the back block and the toe mounds are on the front. Your foot arch will be floating in the air (unsupported by the blocks).
- Bend the knees and shift the hips forwards and backwards to get a sense of balancing the weight between the front and the back of the feet. Try and press all four corners of the feet down as evenly as you can. Notice where you naturally put the weight (e.g. on the front, back, inner or outer part of the foot)?
- Once you have had a little play now try straightening the legs without losing your more neutral position of the pelvis (which you have created by balancing your weight over the feet).
- Stay on the blocks for a few minutes before stepping off.
Tips:
Whilst you are holding the position ask yourself if you can feel the following:
- A lift in the arches of the feet?
- A lift in the lower belly?
- The frontal hip point drawing inwards and slightly upwards?
- The glutes switching on without you having to do anything. Can you feel an engagement through the whole of the leg (front of thigh, back of thighs, outer and inner legs)?
- Once you come of the blocks try to keep all the sensations going. Many of us lose it quite quickly but try your best. Practice this one regularly to see noticeable improvement over time.
Book Balance Pose
Benefits of Number 3 of my Easy Yoga Poses for Better Posture
Ok technically this is not an official yoga pose (I was joking earlier), but it most definitely should be in this list of 3 easy yoga poses for better posture. Go on, find your inner child again and have some fun with this. It works because it helps you to find a better balance between the spinal curves. Without this happy balance of the spine, the book will fall off your head, hence why I look so serious in the picture – I am concentrating!
How To Do It
- Grab a book and balance it on your head. Now see if you can walk around your space, without the book falling off.
- Notice the shifts you have to make in your body position to help keep the book on your head.
- Notice how you naturally grow a bit taller and move more gracefully. Well done you have better posture!
Tips:
Once you have spent a few minutes playing try walking around without the book on your head but keeping the sense of length and adjustment to the spine.
Closing thoughts
I hope you will enjoy exploring these 3 moves for better posture. They all certainly help me continue to improve my body alignment and will continue to do so for many years to come. We are all work in progress after all. Here is a video on the 3 moves:
If you are interested in posture and would like to geek up on it some more be sure to check out my other blog posts on the subject.
