Today it’s a reality we deal with fast paced work and play environment and most of us do understand posture can suffer because of it. We all have felt the aches from poor posture so it can be a direct influence on how good we feel.
This doesn’t always mean we take the steps necessary to help improve posture and circulation because of being to busy or not knowing what to do.
Living with bad posture can lead to chronic pain. The muscle and ligament imbalances that result from poor alignment can lead to all sorts of problems:
- Chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain
- Foot, knee, hip, and back injuries
- Headaches
- Stiffness
- Fatigue
- Muscle atrophy and weakness
- Difficulty breathing
- Digestion issues
- Impingement and nerve compression
- Sciatica
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
One way I recommend with maintaining good posture is with the Cat and Cow yoga pose. Improving posture and circulation at home with this simple yoga pose doesn’t require you to be an experienced Yogi. It’s one of the simpler poses that has great benefits like loosening up the back and helping circulation to relieve low back pain or sciatica.
This pose stretches the lower spine, hips, back and core muscles. The pose also opens the chest and lungs allowing for easier breathing.
Practicing the Cat and Cow pose with consistency may improve posture and promote a healthy spine.
A few of the Benefits:
- Improves posture and balance.
- Strengthens and stretches the spine and neck.
- Stretches the hips, abdomen and back.
- Increases coordination.
- Massages and stimulates organs in the belly, like the kidneys and adrenal glands.
- Relieves stress and calms the mind.
How to perform the Cat and Cow pose:
- Begin with a neutral spine, hands under shoulders with your knees under and aligned with your hips.
- Tilt your tail bone toward the sky while lifting your head and taking a deep inhale breath (Cow).
- Round your tail bone down towards the ground while pushing against the earth with your hands, rounding the spine and exhaling the breath (Cat).
- Do this stretch for a couple of breaths for a simple and effective way to your spine moving and prevent back pain.
Modification and variations
- If you have wrist pain and are unable to place weight on your wrists during the pose, you can drop down to your elbows and rest your forearms on the floor as you do the poses.
- If you have neck pain, keep your head in a neutral alignment with your spine during the poses and do not raise or lower your head.
- You can roll up a towel and place it under your knees for support. This can alleviate pressure and pain in your knees while on the ground.
Precautions
If you experience wrist pain during this pose, modify the pose by following the instructions above or avoid performing it. If you have knee pain or injury, avoid performing the pose for an extended period of time. Also, if you experience back pain or have had a recent back injury, it is important to be cautious when performing the pose or avoid it altogether.
Mara
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Sources:
Andrew Weil
Emmanual H. Nicandro