NURTURING A key pose to improving posture

A key pose to improving posture


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

Mountain Pose, Tadasana is the foundation for all other yoga poses, because it teaches us correct alignment and can be great practice for improving posture and strengthening the lower body.

• Stand with the big toes and inner heels touching. If this feels difficult bring the feet about hip width apart. Bring the ankles together so that the inner ankles touch (if your anatomy permits). The second toes should be pointing forward and be parallel.
• Lift the toes and lengthen them forward as you spread them apart. Never scrunch up or grip the floor with the toes in any of the standing poses, allow the feet to be soft. In Tadasana the tendency is often to shift the weight more into the balls of the feet. We need to bring it back more into the heels with a conscious effort.
• Feel the soles of the feet connect with the surface of the floor, lengthen and lift the knee caps up and draw the thigh muscles back towards their bones.
• Stand tall, lifting the heart area. As you root down through the feet, let the top of the head extend toward the ceiling, lengthening the spine and releasing the tailbone toward the floor. Keep the chin level and muscles of the face relaxed. Draw the shoulders away from the ears and bring the palms together at the sternum, the heart centre. Take a couple of full, slow even breaths.

Draw yourself a little more into the back of the body since we usually tend to work too much from the front of our body. This can be true even in daily life. Next time you are standing in a queue ask yourself are you more on the balls of the feet with the hips out in front of the feet and the torso sagging? Or can you draw the weight back a little more into the heels and be in the back of the body as much as you are in the front and lift the torso evenly from the front, back, and both sides. Try this and observe how other people stand in daily life.

Lee Kennedy has a Yoga-teaching Diploma from the YTTC and an Iyengar-teaching Certificate from BKS Iyengar Yoga UK. She also specialises in natural birth with yoga and Thai yoga massage. For current local and private classes, phone 086 3906343.