It’s challenging to survive in today’s digital age without a smartphone. It’s such an important tool! We may use it to make phone calls, interact when away from the desktop or laptop, and navigate new places. But how this gadget is changing our posture?
So, when we take the smartphone in our hands, how do we stand or sit?
Once the phone is in our hands Unconsciously, we look down at our phones.
But something more than that is happening to your posture. To support our head bending forward, our body naturally adjusts the way we hold our pelvic area and torso. Smartphone also starts to affect how we hold our shoulders and it further affects muscles our forearms, wrist and hands.
The major problem is that, the changes that the body makes to support the posture while holding the smartphone, is that our usage is for a longer duration and probably on a daily basis. When we repeatedly do some action, after sometime our muscles recognises the
pattern and bring the body into that posture which supports the action unconsciously. After a point the unconscious bodily postures stick around even after you have kept the smartphone down, which generates aches and pains in the body.
Smartphone usage can affect our body from the pelvis to our head. The most affected muscles are that of the neck, shoulders and upper back. The head becomes heavier so the cervical muscles and upper back have to take all the extra pressure to hold the head when we bend it in the front rather than just holding it on top of the spine.
We all know that the smartphone usage is not going to reduce, in fact it’s usage is going to increase day by day. But we can certainly change the way to use it and also work on our body with some corrective asanas to relieve the aches and pains due to bad posture. When we practice yoga to perfect body posture, it not only alleviate the pain but also strengthens the muscles worked upon.
You could be already knowing that repeated poor posture may impact vertebral alignment and trigger pain and harm to the nerves. You might be shocked to hear that it can also cause mood changes, poor digestion,
poor circulation, exhaustion, respiratory problems, cardiovascular health problems, and teeth grinding. Above stated issues in addition to evident bad posture can result due to unfitting compression and squeezing of the spine .
Exercise can help you change this for the better. Exercises to strengthen the core muscles are excellent to start with. The best yoga exercises have very many benefits to seriously improve the posture with diligent practice. There are several yoga movements that may further improve and even cure poor posture over time. These postures develop awareness of the spine, which helps with alignment correction overall.
● Don’t bend your head forward
● Don’t use Smartphones for longer duration at a stretch
● Don’t lie down and use the phones
● Keep phone at eye level
● Keep changing the posture while using the phone
● Sit or stand in upright position
1. Talasana
● Stand straight with 1 foot distance between the feet and raise both the hands together from the side in the upward stretch and join your hands in Namaste.
● Simultaneously while raising you arms, lift your heels up, stretching the entire body.
● Make the hand and feet movement simultaneously in 3 seconds.
● Maintain the balance of the entire body on the balls of your feet. Keep your gaze focused at one point and hold the pose for 6 seconds.
● While returning to the starting position palms need to be turned outside and with a backward rotation exhaling bring your arms and heels down simultaneously in 3 seconds.
Must Know: Make yourself a priority, Self-care is the best thing you can do for your body
2. Parvatasana
● Sit in the mat in Sukhasana or Padmasana ● Breathing in in 3 seconds raise both arms from the side keeping them straight and move in the upward direction and join your hands in
Namaste above your head.
● Make sure your arms are close to the ears and are straight from the elbow region. Make sure
the back is straight and also the abdomen is in normal contour keeping your gaze fixed straight ahead at eye level in an inanimate object. Holding this pose for 6 seconds.
● Come back to the starting position by exhaling in 3 seconds and giving backward rotation to the arms bring them down on the side of the body.
3.Marjariasana
● Come down on all your extremities. Keep your knees hip width apart and palms shoulder width apart. Make sure you knew is directly under the hip and your palms are under your shoulders.
● Inhaling, look up pushing your abdomen down and hip out.
● Exhaling, look down towards your navel pulling your back up and squeezing your buttocks in. ● You can repeat both these movements with the flow of your breath 5-10 times.
● Come on the mat in supine position.
● Legs to be bent at knees and feet should be kept close to the buttocks.
● If you can reach your foot then hold your heels with your respective hands, if not then place your hands on side on the mat.
● While breathing in, in 3 seconds lift your hip up. Bring you chest up to touch your chin and do not bring your chin down.
● Staying in this pose for 6 seconds and then while exhaling in 3 seconds bring your hip down on the floor.
5.Dhanurvakrasana
● Come on the mat in prone position.
● Breath in in 3 seconds and lift your head up arching your back at the thoracic region and simultaneously lift your leg up bending at the knees.
● Hold and pull the respective legs in the upward direction and bringing the body in the shape of a bow. Pose to be held for six seconds.
● Release the legs and bring your entire body back to prone position in 3 seconds.
Read More: Yoga for Freedom from Diseases
Regular back and abdominal muscle training by practice of yoga to improve posture can help with posture and counteract the negative effects of bad posture.
Additionally, light exercise can enhance blood flow and result in flawless limb functionality.
These yoga poses for good posture can help you stand straighter and taller, live with an open heart, and will aid in reduction of any discomfort that comes with improper posture from excessive smartphone use by strengthening and Stretching of the shoulders, opening of the chest, strengthening the back, and the core muscles.
Check Out Our Course: 500-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Online Course - 3 Months Yoga TTC