7 Yoga Poses to Improve Your Posture and Boost Confidence

Yoga has taken the world by storm. Everywhere you look, someone is doing a yoga pose somewhere. But if you look back at our history, you’ll understand why we loved contorting our bodies into different postures.

Yoga originated in the far north of India around 5,000 years ago. It is an intrinsic part of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other traditions.

Today, thousands of people do yoga, including different influencers who show you yoga poses on their channel. Yoga has transcended space and time to become one of the most sought-after ways of staying fit.

One of the ways yoga can help you is by correcting your posture. Today, given the kinds of jobs we have, most of our time is spent behind a desk. Unfortunately, we also tend to slouch a lot.

Doing so puts us at risk of different back ailments, some of which are quite painful. Thankfully, there’s yoga. There are different yoga poses for posture that you can use to relieve pain and correct your posture.

Downward Dog - Adho Mukha Savasana

The Downward Dog Pose or Downward Facing Dog Pose, known as Adho Mukha Savasana, is an inversion asana.

• Get down, keeping your hips above your knees and shoulders above your wrists.

• Place your hands a little in front of your shoulders

• Create a suction cup in the middle of your palm

• Create a spiral action in your arms, rolling your upper arms away from you.

• Tuck your toes under and exhale, engaging your lower belly drawing the navel back to the spine.

• Keep your knees bent.

• Slide your shoulder blades along your spine, spreading your collar bones and keeping the base of the neck relaxed.

• Bend and strengthen your legs, bringing both heels to the floor.

• Try staying for five breaths.

• To exit this pose, bring your knees back down to the floor and transition into a lunge.

Mountain Pose - Tadasana

This is great for yoga for back alignment. This pose improves postural and body awareness by slacking your shoulders, knees, hips and ankles. It can counter the effects of sitting at a computer for a long time.

• Stand straight with your big toes touching and with your heels slightly apart.

• Lift and spread your toes, before lowering them back to the mat.

• Keep your head, shoulders, hips and ankles aligned in a straight line.

• Allow your arms to fall at your sides, keeping your palms forward-facing.

• Stare straight ahead. Breathe.

Cat-Cow Pose

This pose is a gentle flow between two poses that flexes the spine. Stretching the back, torso and neck softly stimulates and strengthens the abdominal organs. Opening the chest it encourages slow and deep breathing. The two poses involve spinal movement that stimulates the kidneys and adrenal glands.

• First, get down on your hands and knees, keeping your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

• Keeping your shins and knees at hip-width, centre your head in a neutral position

• Start transitioning into the Cow Pose - Inhale as your belly drops towards the mat.

• Broaden your shoulder blades.

• Slowly transition into the Cat Pose.

• Release the crown of your head towards the floor. Inhale, come into the Cow Pose and exhale, returning to the Cat Pose. Repeat this 5-20 times.

Tree Pose -Vrksasana

This pose is great for the legs, core, hips, inner thigh and groin muscles. It helps you build better balance, also known as the “yoga advantage". Good balance and a strong core go a long way in ensuring you stay active and alive. This is one of the best yoga exercises for posture.

• First, assume the Mountain Pose, keeping your hands in the Anjali mudra.

• Take a second to feel both your feet root into the floor, weight distributed equally on all four corners of each foot.

• Start shifting your weight onto the right foot, lifting your left foot off the floor.

• Bend the left knee, bringing the sole of your left foot high onto your inner right thigh.

• Press the foot into the thigh and the thigh back into your foot with pressure.

• Train your sights on something that doesn’t move.

• Take five-ten breaths before lowering your left foot to the floor to do the other side.

Child Pose - Balasana

Balasana, called the Child’s Pose, is great for relieving stress and anxiety and improving back and spine health. It helps with digestion, bloating and discomfort. It can help with menstrual cramps, calms your mind and improves your posture, especially for people who sit or stand for extended periods.

How to do this exercise?

• Sit on your heels, keeping your knees spread and bring your head towards the floor.

• Stretch out your arms either to the front or by your side, or keep them underneath your forehead.

• Breathe into your lower back

• Maintain this position for around 30 seconds

• To exit this position, exhale and roll up.

Crocodile pose - Makarasana

The Crocodile Pose, also known as Makarasana, is a novice yoga pose for relaxing the entire body and is one of the best yoga poses for the back. Lying on your stomach with your chest and shoulders at rest helps you relieve tension in the lower back while opening up your chest and shoulders.

• Start by sitting on your knees, assuming the Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana).

• Lower your body to the ground. First, lower the legs.

• Next, lower your hips, chest, stomach, chest and shoulders to the mat, facing down keeping your elbows tucked in, palms facing down.

• Bring your hands to the front of the mat. Slowly cross your arms in front.

• Optional - Bring the arms to your side, pressing your forehead into the ground.

Fish Pose - Matsyasana

This posture is great for stretching and strengthening the back, chest and neck muscles, which can correct a slouch. It improves lung capacity and helps with deeper breathing. It brings down fat, and helps with the muscles of the upper back and neck.

It increases spinal flexibility and strength. It stimulates the endocrine glands and stretches the back, knee and pelvic region. This is one of the best yoga poses for spine health.

• Lie down, bending your knees with the soles of your feet on the floor.

• Lift hips and slide hands under the upper buttocks.

• Inhale and press into the elbows and chest, lifting the chest.

• Depending on how your back is bent, bring the back or top of your head to the floor.

• If stable, extend the legs.

In conclusion, the above yoga poses should help you with your breathing and back, as well as your posture and your health, holistically. Make sure you follow the instructions verbatim without any errors whatsoever.

Which pose should I start with?

Ideally, you could begin with any yoga pose; there’s no hard and fast rule as to which pose you need to begin with.

Can a beginner do yoga?

Anyone can do yoga, that’s the beauty of yoga.

Can this help me lose weight?

Yoga, if done correctly, can help you lose weight and become trim.

Which is the best asana?

There’s no such asana that is considered to be the best asana. Do what you’re comfortable with.

What if I can’t do a particular asana?

If you are unable to do a particular asana, go back to the drawing board, see what mistakes you are making, and try again.