We spend a lot of time in front of screens these days. Since many of us are working from home, we have even less reason or motivation to get up and walk around. Most of us are familiar with looking up from our phone’s screen and feeling like our neck is stiff.
If your neck or back is hurting, or you feel tense and have problems falling asleep, you might benefit from these 3 simple yoga poses. You don’t have to do an entire yoga routine to get the benefit from these poses. Instead, think of them as stretches you can do any time of the day.
So let’s get rid of that smartphone posture:
Standing Forward Fold
This is a standard pose in many Viyansa yoga routines. The pose helps you straighten and relieve pressure on your back.
Stand up, feet about hip-width apart. Now fold over at the waist and let the front part of your torso fold as close to your upper legs as you can. Allow your head to feel heavy and your neck muscles to relax. Feel the stretch in your neck, back, and hamstrings.
Hold for thirty seconds or a minute.
Warrior 1
Are you a keyboard warrior by day? Time to be a real (nonviolent) warrior and fix your posture with this Conan-the-Barbarian-sounding-pose.
Stand up, feet hip-width apart. Take a big step forward, one foot straight ahead. Your back foot turns outward to 45 degrees. Your front leg is bent at the knee with your thigh parallel to the ground. Don’t let your front knee go forward past your foot.
Keep your hips squared forward. Now raise both hands up to the sky, your palms facing inward, and let your shoulder blades lower. Hold this pose for thirty seconds to a minute. Alternate sides since the pose isn’t symmetrical.
Mountain Pose
Mountain pose sounds imposing. It sounds grand. It sounds epic. Mainly, it looks like you are just standing, though. How often do you focus on just standing correctly for any amount of time, though? Probably about zero. You might “fix” your posture a few times through the day when you feel yourself slumping, but do you spend any focused time on standing correctly?
Stand up straight with a subtle bend in your knees, and don’t lock your knees. Your hands are down, arms relaxed, palms resting comfortably on your thighs, or to your side. Look straight ahead and focus your eyes on a single point and breathe easily. Hold the pose as long as you like.
These quick and easy yoga poses will have you looking like a professional ballerina with your new perfect posture in no time.
