8 Great Posture Changes You’ll Get with Yoga
When I began practicing yoga, I already had pretty good body awareness through my background in physical therapy and my love of running and exercising in general. But it was only through yoga that I was able to develop a deeper understanding of anatomy, body mechanics and greater awareness of the unhealthy habits in my own body when it came to how I stood, walked, sat, lifted things and moved in general. In my work with people in yoga classes and private sessions, I am able to see how stress, the effects of sitting, hard work, raising kids and just overall sensory overwhelm has affected people’s bodies. There are several things I usually see: tight shoulders, lack of overall strength, tightness in the legs and an overall lack of coordination. In most cases, this isn’t because of a physical problem but more a result of spending too much time thinking and not enough time noticing the body. The good news is that all of this can be shifted through a regular yoga practice. For those that insist yoga is not for them because “they can’t do one thing that long, can’t meditate, can’t concentrate, are not spiritual or can’t touch their toes,” I have news for you. Most people struggle with the same things but somehow gather up the requisite energy to get to a class. After one, they make another and pretty soon, as the body starts to feel better and more alive, they’re well on their way. If you’re looking for some practical benefits from yoga, here’s a good list of things I’ve personally seen shift in people after only a few sessions: 1. Standing more evenly on the feet. Yoga is the practice of working from the “ground up.” If you’re in a pose and unsteady, you make changes to your foundation to connect to greater steadiness. When you stand more evenly on the feet, you naturally create better posture. When you have better posture, you have less back pain, less pain in the hamstrings and breathe better. Working in bare feet stretches the bottoms of the feet, which, if you’ve ever had plantar fasciitis (a painful inflammation of the thick band of muscle in the bottom of the foot), you know how horrible this can be. Standing evenly on the feet and stretching the soles of your feet is a great way to build your arches, improve your posture, decrease your chances of foot problems and improve your steadiness while walking or running. 2. Relaxed shoulders. For most of us, stress in our life shows up in our bodies. One of the most common places is the shoulders. As we hold that stress in […]