Five Simple Poses for Better Posture
BHUJANGASANA (Cobra Pose) Lying on your stomach, with your palms on the floor underneath your shoulders and your elbows squeezing toward your sides, lift your head an inch or two off the floor. Keep the pose low and make your back muscles do the strengthening work of lifting your head and chest. Build up your endurance so you can hold the pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 or 4 times.
SUPPORTED BACKBEND Lie on your back across a foam roller or rolled-up blanket/towel with the roll underneath the bottom tips of your shoulder blades. Then actively extend your arms up toward the ceiling with the palms facing each other. Open your arms out to the sides or over your head and breathe. Relax for 2 minutes or more.
LUNGE With your left leg forward and right knee on the floor, interlace your fingers and place them on the left knee, which should be centered over the ankle. Rather than coming into a deep lunge, bring the hips over the back knee. Lift the front of the pelvis up as you move the tailbone toward the floor. You will feel a deep stretch across the front of the right hip. Hold the stretch for 1 to 2 minutes. Then repeat on the other side.
NAVASANA (Boat Pose) Variation
Balance on your sitting bones with your feet off the floor. Straighten your legs with your toes higher than your eyes, creating a strong V shape with your body. Do this only if you can stay high on the sitting bones with the chest lifted. Hold the pose for 15 to 20 seconds and repeat 2 or 3 times.
VIRASANA (Hero Pose) Sit with your thighs parallel to each other, with the feet and toes pointing straight back. Lift through the crown of the head. Sit for a few minutes twice a day like this.
Works Cited:
Gudmestad, J. "Better Posture 101" Yoga Journal Suppl. Free with paid subscription. August 3, 2011. p. 1-7.