Sitting all day long and commuting to and from work for hours can really take a toll on your body. If you’re not positioned adequately, you’ll feel back and neck pain and soon won’t even be able to walk or sit properly. That’s why you need to pay close attention to ergonomics, find ways to help your spine and improve your posture. While most people rely on exercising in the gym or taking pain pills, a number of them trust ancient wisdom and choose yoga as their cure. Here’s what yoga can do for your posture and back pain.
Evaluate the situation
Most of us have back issues without even noticing anything’s wrong because we’re just so used to them and accept this condition as a part of our everyday life. But, what creates bad posture and how can you tell if something’s wrong? First of all, make sure you know that bad posture comes from sitting, sleeping and walking improperly – and these are the basic activities you do all day long! So, start paying attention to each of them, and you’ll reach the solution in no time.
In order to strive towards good posture, you also need to know what makes your posture good. The essential elements of proper posture are efficiency, freedom of movement and quick transition to next steps. In other words, your posture has to hold your body in a position that’s good enough to simultaneously eliminate the pain and allow smooth transition into your next movement. Unless you feel all of these benefits, your posture isn’t good enough and you need to work on it.
Improving posture and correcting other problems
Once you understand the issue, you can start practicing yoga in order to solve your problems. Yoga makes your more flexible, builds your muscles, keeps you stretched, strengthens your bones and relieves you of chronic pain. These are just some of the amazing benefits daily yoga can introduce into your life, while the other include improving blood flow, boosting immunity, regulating blood pressure, relaxing you and keeping your mentally stable.
Start slow
The biggest problem millions of people around the world make is trying too hard and doing too much too soon. While their intentions are good – they just want to get rid of that nasty back pain already! – their logic is faulty. Just like every other physical activity, yoga is demanding and challenging at first, so you need to ease into it instead of going all in from day one. Metaphorically speaking, it would be like wanting to lift 200 pounds on your first day in the gym just because you want to lose some weight, but starting with smaller weights makes much more sense.
Some of the exercises and positions perfect for beginners are warrior, downward dog and mountain pose. These are easy to handle and you should definitely investigate them before moving onto something more complex and arduous. You’ll probably be able to master them in just a couple of weeks and already feel some improvement – your back won’t hurt that much, while your posture will improve significantly, which will allow you to sit more easily for a longer period of time.
Get some help
In order to reach more visible results and explore more demanding poses, get some help. Most people rely on music to keep them going, others prefer company, while some feel better in a more calming environment. Check out various yoga accessories and finding out how these can improve your yoga experience. From scented candles and incenses to charcoal briquettes and smudges, all of these items can bring your workout to the next level and make your efforts more rewarding and effective. And if you decorate your yoga studio with unique tapestries from Sivana Spirit, you’ll surely do better and be satisfied with your results even more.
Become a pro
Once you accept yoga as part of your life, you can easily transition to a new level and do it every single day. Deciding to set up a home yoga studio makes a lot of sense if you know how effective and beneficial yoga really is, and setting it up will be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. All you need is some space – a spare room would be perfect – as well as a yoga mat or a comfortable rug, and you’re good to go!
Focus on your own problems
The best way to make yoga work for you the most is by focusing on specific problems you have – remember, yoga isn’t for everyone! People with lower back pain, for instance, shouldn’t explore certain poses, but stick to those that lower their pain. If you plan your yoga schedule properly, you’ll not only improve your posture and remove pain from your life, but also become a happier, stable and more satisfied person.