Yoga Yoga and Your Health Yoga Poses for Better Posture By Ann Pizer twitter linkedin Ann Pizer is a writer and registered yoga instructor who teaches vinyasa/flow and prenatal yoga classes. Learn about our editorial process Ann Pizer Reviewed by Reviewed by Kristin McGee, CPT on May 05, 2020 instagram Kristin McGee is a certified personal trainer and currently teaches yoga and meditation for Peloton. She is also certified in Pilates and by the National Association of Sports Medicine. Learn about our Review Board Kristin McGee, CPT on May 05, 2020 Print Students often want to know if yoga can make them taller. While yoga is not going to make you grow, it can noticeably improve your posture, making you look taller, thinner, and more confident. Many postural problems are caused by the hours spent each day hunched over a computer terminal at work or driving a car. These yoga poses can help counteract your tendency to slouch as well as increase your body awareness and your core strength, all of which will go a long way towards improving your posture. Mountain Pose (Tadasana) Verywell / Ben Goldstein Though it looks simple enough, when done correctly mountain pose is actually quite complex because it teaches you to sense when your body is in perfect vertical alignment. It takes a lot of practice and correction to be able to do this on your own. At first, you may overcompensate for a tendency to slouch by pushing the shoulders too far back and sticking out your chest. This is not the point of the pose: rather, it is to find a neutral position where you are neither leaning forward nor back and you feel symmetrical on either side of your midline. Standing Forward Bend Variation Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images This variation with the hands interlaced behind the back is a great shoulder opener. To get as much openness in the chest as possible, join your hands behind your back and scrunch your shoulders up toward your ears. Then let the shoulder blades slide down your back as you draw your arms straight. To stretch your hamstrings, slowly come into a forward bend over your legs while keeping your hands joined. Roll your shoulders toward the middle of your back and extend your arms overhead. Cat-Cow Stretch (Chakravakrasana) Verywell / Ben Goldstein Cat-cow stretches are excellent for helping you discover the ideal, natural curves of your spine. By moving the spine from flexion (cat) into extension (cow), passing through the middle each time, you learned to judge the neutral position more accurately. Let the movements originate from your tailbone and ripple up your spine so that your head is the last thing to move. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) Bridge Pose. Ann Pizer This gentle backbend opens the chest and shoulders, two areas that are often constricted in people with poor posture. It will also strengthen your back, giving your spine more support. Once you have lifted your hips, pause for a moment to tuck each shoulder blade onto your back. Then relax your butt and lift your hips a bit higher. For a less intense version, you can try supported bridge instead. Eagle Pose (Garudasana) Eagle Pose - Garudasana. Verywell / Ben Goldstein A strong core supports your spine and balancing postures are a good way to build your abdominal strength. Eagle arms open the back of your heart (between your shoulder blades). It doesn't matter if you can't wrap your top leg all the way around but do make sure that your shoulders are stacked on top of your hips. There's a tendency to lean the torso forward in this pose. Keeping the erect alignment is another way to improve your awareness of your body in space. If this pose is super challenging, try the chair version. It's also a good way to get in a stretch at work. Plank Pose Plank Pose. Verywell / Ben Goldstein Speaking of core strength, the plank is another wonderful way to work on it. It also reveals where your weak areas are. Take care to make sure that your butt is neither sticking up nor drooping down. Try exaggerating each of these to help you find the middle. Engage your belly throughout, drawing your navel gently toward your spine. Work up to holding this pose for a minute or more. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! If you've never tried it before, starting a yoga practice can feel overwhelming. Our email series can get you ready to roll out the mat. Sign up and get started today! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Kim D, Cho M, Park Y, Yang Y. Effect of an exercise program for posture correction on musculoskeletal pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015;27(6):1791-1794. doi:10.1589/jpts.27.1791