Yoga for better posture
Yoga can strengthen posture and the movements of breathing to contribute to a lifetime of health, longevity and pain-free living.
Whether one is teaching or practicing yoga, focusing on asana that simulates aligned ‘posture’ rather than aligned ‘poses’ is an important distinction to consider.
THE HUMAN BODY IS MADE OF CURVES
A lot of chronic pain and premature aging is the result of poor sitting and breathing habits juxtaposed with too much time in chairs and cars.
The human body is an organic structure and in the natural world, there are no ‘straight lines’. The human body is made of curves and yet the bane of the modern lifestyle, the chair, forces our bodies into a linear unnatural right angle shape that inhibits our breathing apparatus and distorts the natural curves of our spinal column.
In order to remain injury free in our practice, it is important to do yoga poses that keep the ‘curves’ of the body while avoiding linear and right-angled poses.
SOME YOGA POSES CAN MAKE POSTURE WORSE
Many people mistakenly assume this tension in their back body is a result of shortness. Many will try to remedy the situation in their yoga practice by stretching the back body to make it ‘longer’ by doing a forward bend. But in anatomical reality, our back is too ‘long’ and our front body is too ‘short’.
The stretch reflex will turn on in forward bends giving a false sense of security for about 20 minutes and the illusion that stretching the back will make it less ‘tight’. This is a huge blind spot in yoga and fitness classes.
In my experience, I have seen that a repetitive practice of forward bends can make back pain worse as well as destabilize the sacral joint. One must deeply bend the knees in forward bending to protect the hip joint and avoid laxity in the posterior ligaments needed for upright posture.
FINDING THE YOGIC MIDDLE PATH IN ASANA
Many people age by going forward so my recommendation is to focus on yoga poses that simulate aligned and upright posture. I have never seen anyone age by going backwards into the wheel pose so I see no need to get good at going forward. Chair sitting, stress and forced compartmentalized exercises and poses can magnify the shortness in the flexor muscles/ fascia chains of the anterior body. Also making the spine loose in all directions can lead to instability and more pain.
People come to yoga to feel balanced and peaceful in the body and mind but many people still suffer from back pain.
Ancient yoga teachings encourage us to find the middle path, and in asana this can be the practice of creating aligned and centered posture.
AVOID COMPARTMENTALIZED STRETCHING OF THE BODY AND BALANCE TENSIONAL FORCES
Centered poses engage the breathing apparatus while contracting the back muscles which can stop the feeling of pain or ‘tension’ in the back body or ‘extensor chain’. This chain creates a line of pull that runs from the bottom of the feet all the way up the hamstrings, sacrum and back muscles, to the back of the neck and over the skull to the eyebrows. The extensor chain creates the curves in the back body needed for shock absorption during movement.
In most people, the flexors or muscles in the anterior part of the body are much shorter than the extensor chain in the back body. The flexor chain runs from the top of toes up the front of the legs, hip flexors, abdominals and chest muscles to the sternocleidomastoid muscles or SCM. The SCM runs in a diagonal line connecting the anterior flexors in the front body to the back of the skull behind the ears. The flexors and extensor chains meet in the skull and in the feet and to balance the tension in these forces allows one to feel young and be pain-free.
BALANCED TENSION — FLEXOR & EXTENSOR CHAIN
Your yoga practice can be adapted to balance the tension between the flexors and extensors while using breathing techniques that create expansion in the body engaging the core by using the deepest movements of breathing. Our whole body is connected and doing yoga poses that create aligned posture can help to upload better ‘posture software programs’ in our brain. By using focused breathing, one can tap into the autonomic system alerting the ‘bio-intelligence’ to ‘remember’ better posture.
HOW TO DO ACTIVE SITTING
When sitting in a chair, use blocks or a firm pillow to get your hips at least 4- 6 inches higher than the level of the knees. This will release tension in the abdomen allowing the diaphragm and rib cage to engage without restriction. Using the chair back acts as a brace leading to atrophy of the extensor muscles that keep us upright. Try to sit and engage your back muscles rather than using the support of the chair back.
AVOID USING THE PERIPHERY TO CONTROL THE INFRASTRUCTURE
When exercising, doing things like keeping your back flat, tailbone tucked, belly tight, knees straight, or pushing your belly out on inhale will actually inhibit your ability to breathe and can lead to more slouching.
Many people engage daily in abdominal crunching moves that enlist the muscles of the trunk to be short and tight which can cause the organs to protrude and make a ‘pot belly.’
Cyclists in particular are known for hunching over their handlebars and surfers and paddlers — prone as well as stand up — are often in very poor postural alignment when they exercise. The muscles that people engage to shorten the abdominals and round the upper back in these positions mimics slouching. Working the body hard in these positions engages the deep exhalation muscles and locks them in, so it is like they are literally stuck in the exhale.
BREATHE YOUR WAY TO A PAIN-FREE LIFE
Practice self-massage daily on the head, neck, feet, and arms to release unnecessary tension. Don’t wait for someone else to give you a massage; you can and should massage yourself. Manage your stress levels with brief walks during the day and spend as little time as possible sitting in a chair. Stop stretching your back and hamstrings and instead practice focused breathing.
GET A BIGGER DRINKING STRAW FOR THIS EXERCISE
From standing, inhale through a straw slowly feeling the movement of the rib cage and the extension of the spine. Now hold your breath gently for about 6 seconds, then take the straw out of your mouth and slowly exhale making a slow SSSSS sound while focusing on staying tall in your body.
Repeat 7 or 8 times each time practicing the lengthening of your trunk muscles when you inhale and the retention of the ‘lift’ as you exhale.
This simple exercise can teach your brain, which controls your muscles contractions, how to automatically enlist your trunk muscles to stabilize your spine rather than flex your spine.
This is a quick way to realign your posture, get your curves back and improve your posture and health.
Michaelle Edwards is the creator of YogAlign and director of the Kauai Yoga School in Hawaii registered with Yoga Alliance. She is a writer for the Huffington Post, a massage therapist, author, and musician. Michaelle teaches in Hawaii, the mainland USA and internationally conducting YogAlign teacher trainings and Change Your Posture, Change Your Life Workshops.
