Improve Your Posture

Good Posture Through Yoga:
You can get confident and poise with the help of simple yogic postures. Within weeks of starting a yoga practice, most practitioners will begin to enjoy a comfortable posture that relieves physical problems and sets right mental ones. In yoga, posture does not mean just physical aesthetics or egoistic indulgences but ensures complete health and mental equipoise. Yoga pays particular attention to a good posture because a slumped carriage means a collapsed torso that hits all major organ systems, weakens acu-points through which diseases enter and even affects breathing and weight-loss on the mental level. A slumped posture indicates a negative frame of mind. All these are rectified through the “Yoga Of Good Posture”. Here are some moves for a good posture:

Tadasana Namaskar Asana (Prayer Gesture In Tree Pose):
Stand up straight, feet lightly in contact inside. Those who are over-weight, may however, keep the legs slightly apart initially. Inhale. Pass both hands behind, making a namaskar gesture. Try to make both hands make contact completely. Those who are very stiff may initially start with just the fingers touching. Hold for a few seconds, looking ahead, body naturally erect and breathing gently. Slowly, increase time in this pose to one minute, or more.
How It Helps Posture: The body stiffness which causes and is a result of bad posture is slowly eased out of the body. The middle and lower back also feel the expansion and need to accommodate a healthy posture. The ribcage (not only in the front but also at the back) which has suffered and become contracted due to a slumped posture gets expanded and released.
Other Benefits: This posture is an energy-releasing posture. It gives you a natural high. It is used to treat a weak respiratory system that makes one vulnerable to allergies, bronchitis, asthma and sinusitis. The improved breathing promotes efficient digestion and metabolism.
Using Props: You may use a scarf or handkerchief as above. Alternately, you can just fold the arms behind, instead of doing the namaste, since that will be easier for those with extremely bad posture and body stiffness.

Tadasana Gomukh Asana (Combination Of Tree And Cowface Pose):
Stand up straight. Feet should be lightly touching inside. Inhale, pass right hand over right shoulder. Place this hand palm down on your right shoulder blade. Exhale and pass your left hand behind your back so that you can grasp the right hand. Continue breathing normally. Ensure that your head is erect so that you look ahead without scrunching your torso. Hold for half a minute. Release. Repeat entire sequence for the left side.
How It Helps Posture: Most of us are mis-aligned, favouring one side of the body. If you are right-handed, you may be favouring your right side. This asana makes you become aware of such misalignment and helps you to rectify it. The expansion of the chest also opens the upper torso, rectifying problems caused by habitual slumping. The neck is also encouraged into natural uprightness. The spine is gently flexed. The back muscles, which are usually neglected and whose strength is crucial for a good posture, get a gently but definite work-out.
Other Benefits: It helps deal with respiratory problems. It is therapeutic in depression. It helps in healing most spinal problems, particularly upper back ones like cervical spondylosis, frozen shoulder, neck pain. It is a powerful preventive in New-Age afflictions like repetitive injury syndrome that hit habitual computer users.
Using Props: Most beginners and those with a sedentary life-style will not be able to clasp both hands at the back. Initially, use a scarf or big handkerchief to hold between both hands. Slowly, you can dispense with this once this area becomes supple and flexible.