Ever watched dancers on stage and think how amazing their posture was? I certainly do! Their limbs seem to go on forever and a 5'6 ballerina easily looks 6' tall with full extension from her feet to the crown of her head. Part of dancing is the constant self-awareness of your own body's alignment (posture), which makes yoga a perfect complementary practice. Both focus on aligning your body for optimal functional movement, flexibility, balance and strength. Learn my favorite pose for posture and channel your inner Misty Copeland when sitting or standing!
Think Posture Might be Causing Your Pain?
If you've been experiencing headaches and/or "crunching" in your shoulders after a long day sitting behind a computer, you may need to focus on your posture. My favorite yoga pose to test and improve your posture is Mountain Pose (Tadasana in Sanskrit, the language of yoga).
Posture Test:
- Stand with your back against the wall. Arms down by your side.
- Adjust your body so that your heels, glutes, shoulder blades, and back of your head are all touching the wall.
- Bring your chin parallel to the floor so you're looking straight ahead.
Make sure your knees aren't locked out and keep your low back and neck neutral. This is a good basis for your proper posture. Notice how this feels in your body. Which area was the hardest to move back towards the wall? Any areas feel tense?
Based on your answers to these questions, you can start strengthening the areas that felt challenging to move into alignment and stretching the ones that felt tense at rest.
How to Practice Mountain Pose
Tadasana is not only good to test your posture, but its also a beneficial pose to add to your daily practice for improving your posture. Watch my video below for a break down of the pose itself, including modifications. This video is part of the pose collection included with any custom virtual yoga program.
Two Ways to Add Mountain Pose to Your Daily Routine
- Practice right after you get out of bed in the morning.
- Focus on your torso and practice while sitting at your desk.
Hey! I'm Tiffany Lord, Yoga for Headaches guru and Founder of Love & Asana. My passion is helping people just like you learn easy ways to integrate yoga into your daily life to manage headaches and stress. Want help adding yoga to your lifestyle? Schedule a free 20-minute call to see if one of my programs is a good fit for you!