5 Yoga Poses For Better Posture

After the pandemic struck, most of us have been tied down to our desks and laptops. With work from home being the new norm and our homes not equipped to serve as proper workspace, our postures have gone for a toss. We slouch on the bed or sofa with the laptop perched on our lap, bending over to meet deadlines with scant attention to how we are sitting and the consequence back, neck and shoulder pain. However, your posture can still be fixed by doing few yoga asanas  daily at home. Dr Mickey Mehta, global leading holistic health guru and corporate life coach, says, “Our body posture has a significant bearing upon our health. In yoga, this significance lies much deeper. Understand that postures help you postulate. They help you become steady, and stable not just physically, but mentally too. What’s more, perfect postures give you the strength and stability in your core, and confidence in your personality. From the physical perspective, these asanas would rid you of back pains by strengthening those muscles; increase body flexibility and endurance; and make you feel energetic throughout the day.”

He shares five poses you can start doing immediately. “Start practicing these asanas in the morning, and see how your fitness and overall life improves drastically,” he adds.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

This basic pose, called the Tadasana, is great to begin your yoga posture exercises.  Even though it may sound simple, the pose signifies ‘power’ and ‘calmness’.

Step 1

Stand on the floor with your feet a bit apart, arms hanging straight. Lift your toes upwards while spreading them slightly. Then lay them flat again, and sway back and forth and sideways. Stand still thereafter.

Step 2

Squeeze thigh muscles and lift your knee caps one by one. Lift your ankles sideways; thereafter turn your thighs slightly inwards. All along, feel an imaginary energy flow along your thighs and towards the groin area. Lengthen your spine and imagine pulling up your pubis towards the navel.

Step 3

Squeeze backwards your shoulder blades; then release and let them slide downwards gradually. Keeping your lower backside stable, try lifting up your upper chest while widening your collarbones. Keep arms straight besides torso.

Step 4

With your head stable and chin parallel to the floor, keep your throat muscles relaxed and tongue flat against the floor of the mouth. Relax your eye muscles.

Do this pose for upto a minute as a warm up pose for other asanas.

Mickey Mehta

Stand-Up Backward Bending (Anuvittasana)

Step 1

Start off with the Mountain pose. Then keep your palms alongside your lower back / hips with the fingers pointing downwards. Press with your palms while lifting each knee cap alternatively and squeezing the thigh and buttocks’ muscles.

Step 2

Thrust out your hips while beginning to arch your torso backwards gradually. Hold your head stable and look straight ahead. Using your arms to support the upper torso weight, keep your legs and buttocks tight and stable.

Step 3

While doing so, inhale, and hold the breath for few seconds

Step 4

Revert to the starting position while exhaling slowly and keeping your legs and buttocks stable.

Do 10 repetitions.

Stand-Up Forward Bending (Uttanasana)

The Uttanasana is like experiencing a deep release. Imagine a waterfall, with the front of your body being the underbelly of the waterfall.  It soothes your entire being.

This asana starts off with the Mountain pose as in the above asana. However, in this, instead of arching your upper torso backwards, you arch it forward. Exhale while bending forward to a point where your upper torso is parallel to your thighs with your arms stretched out and touching the toes. Inhale as you gradually revert to starting position.

Ensure you’re focusing your weight unto the balls of your feet to keep your hips directly above your ankles.

Do 10 repetitions.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

This pose, called the Bhujangasana in Sanskrit, stretches your chest and shoulder muscles. It gives instant relief from lower back pain and fatigue.

Step 1

Lie flat on your stomach on the floor. With your legs straight and the toes on the floor, put your palms flat and your elbows besides your torso.

Step 2

Inhale, and gradually straighten your arms while lifting your chest off the floor. Keep your legs and lower back stable. 

Step 3

Push your shoulder blades inwards, while feeling the stretch along your backside; hold this pose for around 15 seconds; breathe smoothly.

Step 4

Gradually release the pose by reclining towards the starting position.

Try doing 10 repetitions.

Stand-Up Twisting (Katichakrasana)

This pose is great to warm up the small muscles of the spine, and involves twisting the upper torso while keeping the lower torso stable. 

Step 1

Start with the Mountain pose position, but with your feet and hips slightly more apart. Focus on your breathing and feeling your soles flat on the floor. 

Step 2

Inhale, and straighten your arms in front while keeping palms inwards towards each other. Suck in your belly button towards the spine.

Step 3

Lift yourself upwards from the balls of your feet, while extending your back and exhaling. While doing so, twist your upper torso from the hips upwards towards your left side. Keep your arms in sync with the twist.

Step 4

As you inhale on each repetition, try deepening the twist and feel your lower back, stomach and pelvic muscles stretch. You would also involuntarily feel your glutes squeezing.

Step 5

Hold the twist for around 8 inhalations / exhalations. Thereafter, gradually relax the twist and come back to the starting pose.

Repeat for the right side too. Try doing around 10 repetitions on both sides.