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10 Easy Workouts to Improve Your Posture

Any one of these exercises work great for a quick stretch. You can also follow along this list for a whole posture workout.

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10 Easy Workouts to Improve Your Posture

10 Easy Workouts to Improve Your Posture: Whether you’re working from home or crushing a weight training session, posture matters. This is why strengthening muscles responsible for posture is important, as it helps prevent fatigue and injury.

With a simple exercise routine and using a deep tissue massage gun for recovery, you can start feeling stronger and more confident. 

Quick and easy workouts to improve your posture

Any one of these exercises works great for a quick stretch. You can also follow along with this list for a whole posture workout.

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Thoracic Spine Rotation

This exercise provides relief from any tightness in your back. This restores middle back mobility and prevents causes of shoulder rounding.

  1. Lay on your left side, with knees bent slightly forward.
  2. Inhale. Put your arms together and straighten them in front of you.
  3. Exhale. Peel away your right arm slowly, laying your shoulders flat on the ground.
  4. Keep your legs lying on your left side.
  5. Do 5 slow repetitions.
  6. Repeat on the other side.

Also Read: 5 Snacks That Enhance Your High

Bridges

Posture Workouts

This exercise corrects anterior pelvic tilt. A great relief from sitting down, this activates your glutes and relaxes your lower back.

  1. Start on your back with your knees bent upwards.
  2. Keep your feet and palms flat on the ground.
  3. Contract your glutes and abs.
  4. Drive your feet and arms down, and lift your tailbone.
  5. Keep a straight line between your stomach and knees.
  6. You can lift one leg off the ground to make this more challenging.
  7. Do 5 slow repetitions.

Child’s Pose

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This relaxing pose relieves tension from the whole length of your spine. It lengthens almost the entire back side of your body.

  1. Sit back on your ankles, with your big toes touching and knees splayed apart.
  2. You can also place a pillow under your thighs for support.
  3. Walk your hands out to bend forward and down.
  4. Keep your arms reached forward and rest your head on the ground.
  5. Gently sink your spine towards the ground.
  6. Relax in this position for up to 5 minutes, breathing slowly.

Cat Cows

Best Posture Workouts

This exercise is essentially a spinal self-massage. In the process, it improves your blood flow and relaxes your shoulder, torso, and neck.

  1. Start squarely on the ground on all fours. 
  2. Distribute your weight evenly.
  3. Inhale and arch your spine towards the ground
  4. Follow with your neck and look up.
  5. Exhale, draw your navel in and arch your spine upwards
  6. Tuck your chin into your chest.
  7. Do 5 slow repetitions each way.

Cobra Pose

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This is excellent for posture correction since it’s nearly an inverse of your sitting form. This pose relaxes you from your neck to your ankles.

  1. Lay on your stomach. Feet are hip-width apart and pointing backward.
  2. Place your hands directly under your shoulders.
  3. Contract your quads
  4. Get your shoulder blades down and back.
  5. Lift your torso up, engaging your lower and middle back. Your arms should be guiding more and lifting less.
  6. Do this for 5 to 10 slow repetitions.

Also Read: Lose Weight in 30-Days With This Weight-Loss Meal Plan (1,200 Calories)

Downwards Facing Dog

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Using this as a resting pose brings more balance to your body. This pose relaxes your calves and hamstrings while strengthening your arms, legs, and back.

  1. Start on all fours, with palms flat on the ground. 
  2. Tuck your toes so their underside presses onto the ground.
  3. Drive your toes and palms to the ground, and bend your hips upward.
  4. Lengthen your spine and keep it straight, distributing weight evenly.
  5. You can keep your knees slightly bent, and heels slightly off the ground.
  6. Hold for 1 minute.

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

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This is another pose to address anterior pelvic tilt. It stretches your hips and thigh, and strengthens your lower back and glutes.

  1. Start from a kneeling position with your feet pointing back.
  2. Straighten your hips and lunge one leg forward.
  3. Stretch forward until the back leg is deeply stretching.
  4. Your back and hips should stay as straight as possible.
  5. Hold for 30 to 40 seconds on each side.

Forward Fold

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This opens up the whole back side of your body. This exercise relieves your hamstrings, glutes, and lumbar area – a great practice after sitting for hours.

  1. Stand with your big toes touching and heels slightly apart.
  2. Slowly fold forward at your hips and downwards. Reach your hands as close to the ground as you can.
  3. Slightly bend your knees and relax your hip joints.
  4. Let your spine lengthen.
  5. Tuck your chin and let your head sink towards the ground.
  6. Hold for up to 1 minute.

Over and back

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This exercise addresses the muscles that cause shoulder rounding. You can use a resistance band or even a towel.

  1. Start with a wide overhand grip on your band/towel. 
  2. Hold in front of your chest, locking your elbows.
  3. Lightly pull outwards to create tension.
  4. Without bending your elbows, lift over your head and back. Use shoulder rotation.
  5. Go as far back as you can. Keep pulling apart lightly to retain tension.
  6. Rotate back to starting position.
  7. Do 10-15 slow reps.
  8. As your mobility improves, you can take on a narrower grip.

Mountain Pose

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Beyond great posture in practice, it’s great for balance and spine stability. It gives you more control over your movements by toning your hips and abs.

  1. Stand straight with your feet together.
  2. Straighten your arms to your sides, sticking your chest out
  3. Keep your neck and back straight, slightly pushing your head taller.
  4. Relax your knees and straighten your hips.
  5. Your shoulders should relax with every deep breath.
  6. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.

Also Read: What is Meditation? Physical and Mental Benefits of Meditation

Using Massage Guns to ease posture problems

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Poor posture can overwork certain muscles, causing painful knots. This muscle tension also pulls you into the wrong posture – as a new default. A deep tissue massage can undo these knots. Deep tissue massage guns offer a great solution when trips to the therapist aren’t doable.

Duration: 30 seconds for each muscle group experiencing pain.

What to do: “Float” the massage gun on your target muscle groups to help break up muscle tension. Start on the lower settings first and increase speed, depending on your fitness level.

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The Bottomline

Correcting bad posture is as easy as falling into it. Remember that your posture is a reflection of how you manage your body. It will also take its physical toll on you when left unchecked.

By changing up a few habits, you can project a better version of yourself. By investing conscious effort on your posture, you can stay at your peak for longer.

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IIT-K and BFI collaborate to drive healthcare innovation in India

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IIT-K and BFI forge partnership to accelerate healthcare innovation in India

Kanpur, April 17 (IANS) – The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) has entered into a strategic partnership with Blockchain For Impact (BFI) to drive advancements in healthcare in India. Under the BFI-Biome Virtual Network Programme, this collaboration aims to nurture innovations in the healthcare sector.

As part of the partnership, BFI will support IIT Kanpur in promoting entrepreneurial initiatives through the Startup Incubation & Innovation Centre (SIIC). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at IIT Kanpur by Prof. Kantesh Balani, Dean of Resources and Alumni (DoRA), IIT Kanpur; and Dr. Gaurav Singh, CEO BFI.

BFI has committed to allocating over $150,000 across three years to develop programmes tailored to healthcare-focused startups at IIT Kanpur’s SIIC. This collaboration harnesses IIT Kanpur’s expertise in fostering entrepreneurship and BFI’s dedication to advancing biomedical research.

Prof. Kantesh Balani, DoRA, IIT Kanpur, expressed his optimism about the partnership, stating, “This MoU will help us share knowledge, support startups effectively, and improve our capacity-building efforts.” Dr. Gaurav Singh, CEO of BFI, highlighted the inspiring work of IIT Kanpur incubatees in healthcare innovation and the alignment of missions to accelerate impactful solutions in biomedical research.

This partnership signifies a significant step towards advancing healthcare innovation in India by leveraging expertise and resources. The collaboration between IITK and BFI holds promise for improving public health and ensuring equitable healthcare access for all.

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Doctors are hopeful that gene therapy could be a breakthrough for haemophilia, a blood disorder

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Gene therapy holds promise for blood disorder haemophilia: Doctors

On World Haemophilia Day, doctors highlighted the potential of gene therapy in treating haemophilia, a hereditary blood disorder. Haemophilia is caused by missing or defective clotting factors and raises the risk of severe bleeding and joint damage. Genetic counselling and screening are crucial for affected individuals. India has a high number of haemophilia cases, but many go undiagnosed due to lack of screening capabilities.

Gene therapy offers a promising approach to treating haemophilia by delivering functional genes to correct the genetic defect responsible for deficient clotting factor production. Recent clinical trials show positive outcomes, including the use of lentiviral vectors at CMC Vellore. While current treatment involves factor VIII infusions, gene therapy may offer a cure for haemophilia, especially in low and middle-income countries.

According to Anoop P, Sr. Consultant – Haematology at Aster RV Hospital, “Gene therapy is a potentially curative treatment for haemophilia.” It allows for editing the faulty gene of a baby inside the uterus, known to be born with haemophilia due to a family history. Ongoing research on gene therapy shows promising results, indicating a potential paradigm shift in the management and cure of haemophilia.

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The Connection Between Daytime Sleep and Increased Risk of Dementia

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How daytime sleep can raise dementia risk

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Compensating for lack of sleep during the daytime may not be as effective as previously thought, warned Dr. Sudhir Kumar, a neurologist based in Hyderabad. According to Dr. Sudhir, daytime sleep is not in sync with the body’s natural clock and can increase the risk of dementia and other psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Sudhir, from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, highlighted in a post on X.com that daytime sleep is lighter and does not fulfill the body’s sleep requirements. He explained, “This fact is supported by numerous studies of night shift workers, who are predisposed to stress, obesity, cognitive deficits, and an elevated risk of neurodegenerative diseases.”

The neurologist pointed out that the glymphatic system, responsible for clearing the brain of protein waste products, is most active during sleep. Therefore, when there is a lack of sleep, the glymphatic system may fail, increasing the risk of dementia. Dr. Sudhir stated, “Glymphatic failure is the common pathway of dementia, leading to the accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain.”

Factors such as poor sleep quality, age, sedentary lifestyle, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, sleep apnoea, circadian misalignment, substance abuse, and depression can also suppress or result in the failure of the glymphatic system. Dr. Sudhir emphasized, “Good sleepers tend to live longer, weigh less, have a reduced incidence of psychiatric disorders, and maintain cognitive function for longer periods.”

In conclusion, Dr. Sudhir advised that consistently sleeping well at night can lead to better cognitive function and decrease the risk of dementia and psychiatric disorders. It is essential to prioritize quality sleep to maintain overall brain health and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

–IANS
rvt/

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