Sunday, February 26, 2006

Yoga stretch for poor posture



This stretch is a combination of the backbend half moon and the forward fold good posture poses. Performing this daily will help correct any slouching or curving of the upper back, and be invigorating as well!

1 Start by standing with your feet hip width apart and perfectly parallel to each other (you may feel slightly pigeon-toed). Grab a towel in your hands with a comfortable distance between them. This is a bit of a dance with your breath, so each movement couples with a deep inhale or exhale.

2 Slowly inhaling, swing your straight arms above your head, keeping the towel taut and your shoulders down.

3 Exhale while you bend back as far as you can, arching your back and lifting your chin. Don't crunch the back of your neck or your lower back, and keep your arms straight.

4 Inhale and come back upright, and bring your hands behind your buttocks, holding on to the towel and keeping your arms straight.

5 Exhale, bend forward, swinging your arms up perpendicular to your back. You can bend your knees slightly here, but keep your arms straight and the towel taut.

Come back to your initial standing position with an inhale. Take a breath and repeat 2 to 4 more times.

15 comments:

Kate said...

I will have to try this!! :)

Anonymous said...

I will have try this should be able to even though recovering from surgery.

Anonymous said...

umm...human arms don't bend that way. was this written/drawn by a cat?

dorrie said...

wondered the same....please explain how to get from step 3 to 4 without letting go of the towel

Claudia said...

I guess I should have clarified that indeed you need to let go of the towel when you're upright again. Just a quick flip of the towel and keep going. :-)

Anonymous said...

This really works

Anonymous said...

How would this improve posture?

Anonymous said...

Strengthens your core, that's how.

Ignacio said...

Cool!

Unknown said...

i ried this n have to say im not flexible at all, ill keep practising it :)

Anonymous said...

This actually helped a bit... Thank you very much.... My posture was really bad until I started practicing this ;-)

Anonymous said...

OK so I don't read the comments untl after I tried the exercise and I just held my and I did it by holding my arms far enough apart so are we supposed to let go of the towl and can you explain again when please thanks

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You can move your arms like this by broadening your grip on the towel/strap/blanket. It improves posture by opening the chest, strengthening your shoulders and core. Don't lock your legs out!

Tanvir Asif said...

This is an awesome post.Really very informative and creative contents. These concept is a good way to enhance the knowledge.I like it and help me to development very well.Thank you for this brief explanation about posture.
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