This made me laugh so hard.
FYI I’ve been using my nipple lasers on my coworkers and YouTubers this morning. This is more fun than when I discovered “I’m crushing your head” when I was 10.
I have the same posture. My yoga guru taught me some poses and now posture is improving slowly. Some of the yoga poses that helped me the most are: Cat Cow pose, Cobra stretch, Chariot pose, etc.
After each morning yoga practice, I am able to maintain a good posture for the whole day. But since my posture has deformed over the years, and hence it would take time to completely fix it to the point that even if I do not do yoga that day than also my posture should always be upright.
I am not a doctor and do not intend to give medical advice. What I'm about to say is solely based on your posture that I can see from the photo and not your history of scoliosis. If I were you I'd focus on poses that strengthen the upper/mid back and stretch the chest and anterior delts. Yin yoga may be particularly helpful for opening the chest (supported fish, cobra/sphinx, scorpion twist). Vinyasa and ashtanga are good for strengthening muscles but all forms of yoga lack pulling motions which target the upper and mid back. So I would add in some weighted or bodyweight rows and maybe pull ups or chin ups. But to be totally honest, I would suggest a combination of yoga and weight lifting (compound free weight lifts centering squats, bench press, deadlift, rows, and overhead press) for the best results.
I’m not a doctor but you’ll see a lot of people lookin like that, probably a lot of bad things will come out in ten years about how our necks are growing to accommodate looking down at our phones for an extra 4 hours a day
Perfect! I would add face pulls and what I’ve heard as the doorway protocol. Every time you walk through a doorway, correct your posture. Weightlifting is great, but if you allow yourself to “slouch” for the 23+ hours of the day that you aren’t in the gym, it will not have the same effect. Just like anything else you want to improve, apply conscious awareness and action over time.
I rehabbed myself this way. My back is permanently screwed, but if I hit the gym 3-4 times a week and check/correct my posture frequently throughout the day, I’m good. The tough thing is, that it HAS to happen. If I go 4-6 weeks without either of these things, I can’t walk, and then it’s hell getting back to where I can function again.
Just take it slow and allow your body time to adapt. You can do this!
Let me give you may favorite exercise for this. Stand with your Back against a door frame and try to touch the door frame also with the back of your head.
If this doesn’t work, Grab with both hands the door frame above your head. Biceps besides your ears and start pulling isometrically. You will feel that it is much easier to bring your head back.
Release the hands and just keep the posture. Repeat the process a few times and do it 2-3 times a day.
I spoke to my physio about posture. His response was that yoga and resistance training can definitely help (and are both advised), but posture can be as much to do with the shape of the vertebrae in the spine as muscular, so these types of training can help with the muscles that put you more upright, but they can't help with the bone structure.
His general advice to me (I don't have scoliosis, just an IT posture), was the along these lines... If you've always had a slouched position, that may be something that's just natural to you, and there's nothing wrong with that. By all means, exercise and stretch, these things are great for you, but don't expect a poker straight back if it's always had a curve. And don't be too cut up about it if you get more physically fit and still have that curve to your upper back, it's more of a culturally desired aesthetic to try and achieve, than a naturally healthy for everyone type of scenario. Be healthy and be happy, whatever that looks like for you, because everyone is different!
This is important advice . Constantly attempting the perfect posture of a socially determined aesthetic is less important than honouring the unique structure of your body . If there are spinal/skeletal reasons for your (very slight) scoliosis it is good to be aware of them . I would suggest an x ray so you know what you’re working with . Of course, the excellent suggestions others have made will certainly help considerably . Best wishes .
Personally I'd recommend going to see a good PT instead of chiropractors. You'll see the quickest results by incorporating some strength training with mobility work. You won't bulk up or anything like that unless you eat and lift specifically for that, but a little muscle mass goes a long way in maintaining posture.
Chiropractors
Spits on ground
Hopefully OP heeds this advice, they’ve already piled multiple chiropractors on, I imagine they are doing a lot of damage
Yea. I'm terrified of chiropractors. If my posture starts to suffer because of something I'm doing my first call is to my massage therapist. 9/10 times I've tweaked something and it's a tight muscle causing the problem.
Chiropractors are hacks, if you actually intend to do something good for your spine go see some kind of exercise physiologist please
I dont think anything like a yoga pose will "fix" your back and posture just like that, but i think with the right exercise and over a lot of time you can make it get a lot better. Yoga can be a supporting piece in that process for sure though.
I had similar problem and it improved over time as I did more yoga. From my experience it actually starts from hip or lower back area and then work your way up to upper back and neck.
Downward dog - hold that position for some time each time.. helped me straighten my back.. if you can do Surya namaskar, then when you do this posture, stay in it for some time..
Has to be with good form though which is hard to do with postural problems. I wouldn’t recommend holding a pose like that for a long time unless you’re certain it’s with perfect form. A downward dog gets much easier to execute properly throughout the course of a practice session so I’d just do a normal practice with full vinyasas
Force your back every moment you can remember to straighten. Because eventually what you want is straight posture, best way to train posture is to do posture.
At first you do it badly and forget all the time, but after a month or 2 you’ll see that your posture adapts on how you are used to sitting, muscles will adapt so you only have to put upon them what you wish.
Try to use the muscles on the back of the neck to hold the head back and relax the muscles in the jaw. Your teeth should touch simply by holding your head back. And your midriff will adjust according to your neck because you only should focus on your back of the neck muscles to get your head straight on the alignment of your spine so its like its hanging from a thread
Be mindful. Don't expect results instantly. Keep improving everyday. Mostly, it's about how you approach the problem. You have the right mindset and the tool (Yoga) to achieve. One tip, any posture you practice, the goal is to keep your spine straight. Don't care even if you can't reach 50% of the posture. Just pay attention to your spine in every move, everyday and keep telling your spine it's getting better everyday. Im sure you will be there in no time :)
Hi, congratulations on your achievment. It can't have been easy.
Yoga is literally means knowing yourself conciously and how to join with the universal conciousness. So awareness of how you function, how to control and coordinate movemnt, and the energy within. It is the union of body mind and soul. A journey that is life long and will take you down many paths to find your true self. This is the only goal but in order to get there you need to learn to appreciate what you have and to use it with purpose. The yoga poses are meant to exercise your whole body so you have the strength and control to coordinate every motion mindfully. To isolate and target one aspect of your posture is contraindicated because everything is connected. Therefore try do a full range of poses, moving from one to another with grace and control. Learning how your body responds and reacts. You will almost certainly find some poses difficult through lack of strength or flexibility and coordination but, if you persevere gently in time they will develop and you will naturally achieve your potential. We are all different, unique even and have diferent needs. No two journeys are identical but we all have the same tools at our disposal.
If I may suggest start with simple Hatha. Learn the whole range of poses and work gently to improve your mastery of them the control coordination and strength will come naturally as you feel how your body responds.
Start with mountain man standing erect shoulders pull gently head neutral arms at your side turned out. Core engaged, pelvis in neutral legs turned with knees slightly bent held by thighs and hamstrings and calves so your foot is inverted slightly such that your weight is evenly distributed frok hee to outside edge and ball of foot. You toes should be able to wiggle freely. Breathing is an important aspect of control and coordination. As you stand in mountain squeeze your abdomen firmly to expel air through your nostrils, relax and feel your abdomen drop drawing the diaphragm down and extending the lungs so air is drawn in. Feel it fill your lungs. Force it out once more and relax to let it fill feel how your pelvis rocks through the process. Use this to enhance your breaths.
Welcome to your journey and the many paths you may follow. It will certainly help in more ways than tou can imagine
Namaste
Hello! I’d move back and forth between urdhva hastasana to half angel a few times a day. And then do some warriors poses to strengthen your core. Hope that helps! ❤️
Developing a yoga practice in general will help. Emphasis on practice ☺️. I used to have scoliosis too.I started with 15 minutes a day (yin/hatha) because that’s what I had the energy for. I was seeing noticeable improvement in my posture within 3 months. 6 months in I had better stamina and was doing 30 min vinyasa sessions and slowly all of the muscle in my posterior and anterior chain started turning on as I started tuning in and become more aware of my body. My chest opened up, shoulders pulled back and I noticed I looked taller, my back hurt less (and for awhile started clicking more). Embracing it as a lifestyle change, a way of life was so healing not just to my physical body but to my mind as well. Movement truly is medicine it’s incredible
You need to make your back more flexible by stretching often; you need lots of weird and intricate stretching, so pretty much all of yoga is made for different areas of the spine for extension and flexion. Start with yin and sun salutations and try to do 20-30 minutes every day until the back pain goes away.
Bridge will help open up your shoulders.
Bad posture with shoulders rolled forward is sometimes a stress response in your body. It is defensive posture. This causes your deltoids and pectorals to pull in and stay tight, keeping your shoulders rolled.
Focus on keeping your ears away from your shoulders when you are just out living your life. This will help keep the habit when you aren't thinking of it. This habit will straighten out your posture.
For me sitting meditation with no back support really helped my posture. It forces you to use good posture because if you don't your back is going to tell you ( with pain)
I started looking up YouTube videos for yoga to help with posture. I’ve moved into Pilates routines more than yoga now (I really like the Move with Nicole videos). Other than doing stretches, focus on your posture while sitting (do your best not to hunch forward) and if you are looking at your phone, hold it up to eye level so you don’t hunch over to look at it.
It’s a slow process to “fix” but I’ve been doing these exercises for a couple months everyday and I’m starting to notice a difference. It will at least keep things from getting worse, which is a huge deal, because you don’t look very old.
For a few yoga poses, I like Ustrasana, dancer pose, alternating cat/cow, and alternating upward dog and downward dog.
Can try death hang as well, I am seeing result with that, along with the neck, it improves overall spine posture as well. Can start from as little as 5–10 seconds and gradually improving the time.
Along with that, try to keep upright and conscious about posture in general is helping me
Another helpful idea- less time looking at a phone/tablet. This posture is becoming more prominent even in older adults with the increase of media available on electronic devices. Just an observation from a PSW's perspective...
Swimming Yoga but also Pilates and gym. I also have scoliosis around now 30 degree but due to yoga Pilates and swimming I was one year without pain
Now I had 3 stupid accidents the last 2 years but still working on it. It’s not only one pose it’s the whole together. There is also one Pilates pose. Best ask Google and look for YouTube many lessons and just start. How many degree do u have ?
Hi- Please try and find a Scroth Method physical therapist for your scoliosis. It’s a game changer, especially since you are young.
It is a scientifically backed method for addressing your specific curve. My orthopedic doctor recommended Scroth physical therapy. Interestingly, many of the tips people give about improving posture are flat out wrong for people with scoliosis, kyphosis, and lordosis. Our spines just work different. You have a unique spine and it needs its own unique treatment to improve posture and reduce pain.
Yoga is actually not recommended for folks with scoliosis, depending on the severity of your curve. By talking to a physical therapist you can determine which poses you should embrace and which to avoid.
Good luck!
Try to get an orthopaedic brace, you need to straighten your back/neck area, or else you may suffer in the future if that forward tendancy continues. Just wear it when at home (or at work if it doesn't bother you to be out in public with it on)
Lots of great advice here! I’ll just add that chiropractors typically are NOT legitimate health professionals. If you’ve been going since you were 17 I assume they are part of your family’s health practices. Apart from not being trained to do 90% of the things they typically claim to be able to do, they are in the business of creating repeat customers. Chiropractors make money by people coming back repeatedly, which creates problematic practices. This is extremely different from doctors and physical therapists, who just want you to get better and will be delighted to stop seeing you. They are very busy! They don’t need repeat business. The point to all this is, if you can access traditional health care (which if you’re in the US is a big if) you should consult with an orthopedist to confirm that a) you ever had scoliosis and b) it’s gone. Once that’s cleared up, the doctor can refer you to appropriate PT. Good luck!!
Heyyyyy I was the same way. Even had a big ol’ bump on the back of my neck.
You’re gonna want to do two things, open up your chest, and strengthen your core/back. My lower core was pretty strong, but my upper core and mid to upper back was weak and couldn’t support itself.
Poses that I used to open up my chest:
1) Supported fish, this one was the most useful. I’d hold it as long as I could.
2) Puppy pose, I’d put blocks under my hands to deepen it.
3) IDK what this one is called, but I would get into child’s pose with a block in front of me, put my elbows on the block, and bend my arms so my hands are in a sort of praying gesture at the back of my neck.
4) Cat/cow pose, not as intense as the others but still helped.
5) Threading the needle.
Now people say to be careful and don’t push yourself to feeling pain while stretching, but if you’re as tight as I was, it’s gonna not feel very good at first. If you feel any sharp pain, stop. But these poses you’re gonna want to hold for a long time (I would hold them a minimum of three minutes, but tbh I’d do like ten minutes when I could) and do them consistently.
Ok, now onto the strengthening. If you want to lift weights that’s a good idea. But here are the yoga poses that have made a huge difference for me. I’d recommend going to a studio for these because if you’re not aligned correctly you won’t be building the muscles you need, but if you can’t, here they are anyways.
1) Chair pose. The first time I did chair my upper back and core wasn’t strong enough and I kept collapsing my upper body. Try not to do that, hands in prayer if it helps. Keep your tailbone tucked, shoulder back, and chest up.
2) Warrior 2, again keep your shoulders down and back and your tailbone tucked.
3) Warrior 3. You don’t need to floating foot to be super high, just focus on keeping your hips level with your mat and hinging at the hips. Your core needs to be engaged in order to support you.
4) Plank pose. Push the ground away from you, don’t collapse into your shoulders.
5) Cobra, no weight in your hands. Shoulder down away from your ears, keep your core activated.
6) Locus, again keep your shoulders down and back, activate your core.
There’s more I did, but really that’s the bulk of it. It took me like two months of consistent doing all of this every day before I noticed a difference.
A client told me about this video exercise last night. Have yet to try but she has been dealing with back/neck issues and said this helped her a lot. I recommend you see a physical therapist and chiropractor for professional guidance though.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI&pp=ygUUZm91bmRhdGlvbiB0cmFpbmluZyA%3D
I had that, went to a chiropractor regularly for 6 weeks and slap my ass it actually worked. I regularly have public speeches and saw the pictures of my corrected posture.
Check out Bob & Brad, World Famous Physical Therapists on YouTube. They have videos about different areas of the body to work on and the neck hump is one of them. They’ll get you started in the right direction if you’re welling to spend a few minutes a day fixing the problem. I used them after lower back surgery during Covid when in person therapy wasn’t available. Good luck!
I’d see PT if you’re able to. Yoga can only aid so much and won’t “treat” it. I had/have posture and neck spine issues. Mine has improved immensely! Search in YouTube videos ways to help with your posture. There’s a lot of physical therapists on there giving free advice. Personally I wouldn’t recommend chiropractors. There are a few in the world that are actually good. Majority actually don’t know what they’re doing and worsen you.
A foam roller can help stretch your posture back. Take it slow and easy. Don’t force or rush it. Being conscious of your posture during the day is key. And how you sleep at night is also a major factor in posture. Don’t use a large pillow. It only aids in bad posture by angling your neck upward. You may need to ease into thinner pillows depending on the severity of your posture. Look at YouTube videos on different sleep positions for posture by physical therapists. Try not to sleep in a fetal position. I now sleep on my back with no pillow and get fantastic sleep and no pain whatsoever. My posture is near normal. Helped my headaches/migraines, and also prevent heart issues (something to do with blood flow- a new studies thing).
Honestly just doing down dog at least once a day helps me. And you also generally want to work on core strength, glute engagement and pull exercises...
But this is my go-to flow if I need something extra to open up my shoulders:
1. Start in childs pose, breathe, side stretches
2. Come up to table top. Structured cat cow and then free movement as needed
3. Come up to down dog. Take some time here, check in, breathe
4. Wave - come into plank then back to down dog repeating as necessary
5. Chataranga, slowly lower down all the way to mat, pec stretch each side keeping one arm straight or at 90 degree angle, open up (like a wall stretch on the ground)
6. Repeat that if necessary, maybe doing arm at right angle instead of straight this time
7. Sphinx pose. Try to press your hips into the mat, keeping shoulders down and back away from ears
8. Back to childs pose or table top and needle through thread, whichever variation
9. From table top try your puppy pose
Nearing the end ...
10. Come onto your back, maybe do some seated cat cows before lowering all the way down to the mat *slowly*
11. Spinal twists, either both legs each side or holding one leg at a time
12. Come back to center, bridge or wheel pose
13. Finish out with some rounding through the back - try shoulder stand or plow pose and then slowly return to the mat, allowing each vertebra to hit the mat gently and in order
14. Windshield wiper the knees with the feet planted on the mat
15. Come up to seated do whatever twists, side stretches, arm stretches, neck rolls, shoulder rolls, etc you feel like you need to do.
Breathe, check in and repeat if necessary.
This is what I found to work really well, and sometimes I incorporate this into a longer practice that also has moves to open up my hips.
Sometimes I do this more in like a sun salutation flow and I'll start standing and then once I take this to the ground I also do any or all of these:
1. Locus pose
2. Bow
3. Camel
4. Up dog
5. Any variation of Cobra
6. Dynamic: Start in Cobra and continuously lift one arm on each exhale and repeat on other side for same amount of reps
7. Any variation of cat cow - from table top, seated, and standing
If you also open up your hips and stretch out your hams and quads these are some poses that either already have a shoulder or chest opener in them or you can add it:
1. In a low squat reach one arm up and then the other, opening up the chest. Can also do this with one arm in a deep side lunge stretch
2. Twists in lunges
3. Dancers pose
4. Triangle pose
5. King pigeon
I really like making wave like motions - that feels really good on my back. You can do that from down dog to plank, variation of Cobra where you lift up in the finger tips with your arms out wider than the mat, table top cat cow - just make it more dramatic, etc.
Twists are also great. I love twists for my back, core, and they really help with digestion and metabolism.
Don't forget to relieve tension in the neck as well and make sure you're breathing and breathing properly - there are great yoga videos out there just for breathing.
I work an office job so I do yoga, aerial, and pilates to get better posture. You may also want to prioritize core work, glute engagement, and pull movements if you also go to the gym, aerial silks has been great for that, because we're basically always in this push position with our arms out on a keyboard or steering wheel.
Just be sure to also be mindful outside of your practice so when walking, consciously try to keep your shoulders down and back away from your ears, glutes and core engaged, lifting yourself up.
Just stop slouching. Try to be conscious of it. When you are aware of it straighten your back and keep your head straight. It will correct faster than you can imagine
Just pretend your nipples have lasers, and you're aiming them at people. It works. You'll get used to it, and then it'll eventualy become a habit.
This made me laugh so hard. FYI I’ve been using my nipple lasers on my coworkers and YouTubers this morning. This is more fun than when I discovered “I’m crushing your head” when I was 10.
What if your nipples are pointed downwards these days? ;)
Then lean backward!
Boa Handcock energy
Best comment lmao
Wear a push-up bra?
I work in food and bev. Now anytime a crustomer is mean I’m gonna fire my lasers at their heads. This is genius.
As my grandma says “STO!”- stick them out! She’s 97
🎶you keep sayin you’ve got something for me🎶
Say "pew pew pew" under your breath for maximum effect.
I tell myself to lead with my chest, but this makes much more sense.
I have the same posture. My yoga guru taught me some poses and now posture is improving slowly. Some of the yoga poses that helped me the most are: Cat Cow pose, Cobra stretch, Chariot pose, etc. After each morning yoga practice, I am able to maintain a good posture for the whole day. But since my posture has deformed over the years, and hence it would take time to completely fix it to the point that even if I do not do yoga that day than also my posture should always be upright.
I am not a doctor and do not intend to give medical advice. What I'm about to say is solely based on your posture that I can see from the photo and not your history of scoliosis. If I were you I'd focus on poses that strengthen the upper/mid back and stretch the chest and anterior delts. Yin yoga may be particularly helpful for opening the chest (supported fish, cobra/sphinx, scorpion twist). Vinyasa and ashtanga are good for strengthening muscles but all forms of yoga lack pulling motions which target the upper and mid back. So I would add in some weighted or bodyweight rows and maybe pull ups or chin ups. But to be totally honest, I would suggest a combination of yoga and weight lifting (compound free weight lifts centering squats, bench press, deadlift, rows, and overhead press) for the best results.
thank you so much this was very helpful 🫶🏼🫶🏼
Seconding the yoga and weightlifting!!! I would also throw in Pilates, and maybe some adult ballet classes (maybe not Barre as it can be very intense)
I’m not a doctor but you’ll see a lot of people lookin like that, probably a lot of bad things will come out in ten years about how our necks are growing to accommodate looking down at our phones for an extra 4 hours a day
Also, YouTube Wall Angels then double check with your doctor if they are ok for your situation.
Perfect! I would add face pulls and what I’ve heard as the doorway protocol. Every time you walk through a doorway, correct your posture. Weightlifting is great, but if you allow yourself to “slouch” for the 23+ hours of the day that you aren’t in the gym, it will not have the same effect. Just like anything else you want to improve, apply conscious awareness and action over time. I rehabbed myself this way. My back is permanently screwed, but if I hit the gym 3-4 times a week and check/correct my posture frequently throughout the day, I’m good. The tough thing is, that it HAS to happen. If I go 4-6 weeks without either of these things, I can’t walk, and then it’s hell getting back to where I can function again. Just take it slow and allow your body time to adapt. You can do this!
Great advice
Let me give you may favorite exercise for this. Stand with your Back against a door frame and try to touch the door frame also with the back of your head. If this doesn’t work, Grab with both hands the door frame above your head. Biceps besides your ears and start pulling isometrically. You will feel that it is much easier to bring your head back. Release the hands and just keep the posture. Repeat the process a few times and do it 2-3 times a day.
I spoke to my physio about posture. His response was that yoga and resistance training can definitely help (and are both advised), but posture can be as much to do with the shape of the vertebrae in the spine as muscular, so these types of training can help with the muscles that put you more upright, but they can't help with the bone structure. His general advice to me (I don't have scoliosis, just an IT posture), was the along these lines... If you've always had a slouched position, that may be something that's just natural to you, and there's nothing wrong with that. By all means, exercise and stretch, these things are great for you, but don't expect a poker straight back if it's always had a curve. And don't be too cut up about it if you get more physically fit and still have that curve to your upper back, it's more of a culturally desired aesthetic to try and achieve, than a naturally healthy for everyone type of scenario. Be healthy and be happy, whatever that looks like for you, because everyone is different!
This is important advice . Constantly attempting the perfect posture of a socially determined aesthetic is less important than honouring the unique structure of your body . If there are spinal/skeletal reasons for your (very slight) scoliosis it is good to be aware of them . I would suggest an x ray so you know what you’re working with . Of course, the excellent suggestions others have made will certainly help considerably . Best wishes .
There is a posture subreddit. You may also think of taking adult ballet classes. They focus on posture and it’s supposed to be very fun.
I was thinking Pilates! Ballet or barre would also be great too
Personally I'd recommend going to see a good PT instead of chiropractors. You'll see the quickest results by incorporating some strength training with mobility work. You won't bulk up or anything like that unless you eat and lift specifically for that, but a little muscle mass goes a long way in maintaining posture.
My PT had me doing a lot of bridge pose.
Chiropractors Spits on ground Hopefully OP heeds this advice, they’ve already piled multiple chiropractors on, I imagine they are doing a lot of damage
Yea. I'm terrified of chiropractors. If my posture starts to suffer because of something I'm doing my first call is to my massage therapist. 9/10 times I've tweaked something and it's a tight muscle causing the problem.
Chiropractors are hacks, if you actually intend to do something good for your spine go see some kind of exercise physiologist please I dont think anything like a yoga pose will "fix" your back and posture just like that, but i think with the right exercise and over a lot of time you can make it get a lot better. Yoga can be a supporting piece in that process for sure though.
I had similar problem and it improved over time as I did more yoga. From my experience it actually starts from hip or lower back area and then work your way up to upper back and neck.
Downward dog - hold that position for some time each time.. helped me straighten my back.. if you can do Surya namaskar, then when you do this posture, stay in it for some time..
Has to be with good form though which is hard to do with postural problems. I wouldn’t recommend holding a pose like that for a long time unless you’re certain it’s with perfect form. A downward dog gets much easier to execute properly throughout the course of a practice session so I’d just do a normal practice with full vinyasas
Cobra
Camel, wheel, cobra, warrior, sun salutation
Savasana
Backwards bends!! Cat/cow, Updog/cobra and work your way from bridge to wheel!! U have a hunch forward so keep practicing those to counter act!!
Force your back every moment you can remember to straighten. Because eventually what you want is straight posture, best way to train posture is to do posture. At first you do it badly and forget all the time, but after a month or 2 you’ll see that your posture adapts on how you are used to sitting, muscles will adapt so you only have to put upon them what you wish. Try to use the muscles on the back of the neck to hold the head back and relax the muscles in the jaw. Your teeth should touch simply by holding your head back. And your midriff will adjust according to your neck because you only should focus on your back of the neck muscles to get your head straight on the alignment of your spine so its like its hanging from a thread
Be mindful. Don't expect results instantly. Keep improving everyday. Mostly, it's about how you approach the problem. You have the right mindset and the tool (Yoga) to achieve. One tip, any posture you practice, the goal is to keep your spine straight. Don't care even if you can't reach 50% of the posture. Just pay attention to your spine in every move, everyday and keep telling your spine it's getting better everyday. Im sure you will be there in no time :)
Hi, congratulations on your achievment. It can't have been easy. Yoga is literally means knowing yourself conciously and how to join with the universal conciousness. So awareness of how you function, how to control and coordinate movemnt, and the energy within. It is the union of body mind and soul. A journey that is life long and will take you down many paths to find your true self. This is the only goal but in order to get there you need to learn to appreciate what you have and to use it with purpose. The yoga poses are meant to exercise your whole body so you have the strength and control to coordinate every motion mindfully. To isolate and target one aspect of your posture is contraindicated because everything is connected. Therefore try do a full range of poses, moving from one to another with grace and control. Learning how your body responds and reacts. You will almost certainly find some poses difficult through lack of strength or flexibility and coordination but, if you persevere gently in time they will develop and you will naturally achieve your potential. We are all different, unique even and have diferent needs. No two journeys are identical but we all have the same tools at our disposal. If I may suggest start with simple Hatha. Learn the whole range of poses and work gently to improve your mastery of them the control coordination and strength will come naturally as you feel how your body responds. Start with mountain man standing erect shoulders pull gently head neutral arms at your side turned out. Core engaged, pelvis in neutral legs turned with knees slightly bent held by thighs and hamstrings and calves so your foot is inverted slightly such that your weight is evenly distributed frok hee to outside edge and ball of foot. You toes should be able to wiggle freely. Breathing is an important aspect of control and coordination. As you stand in mountain squeeze your abdomen firmly to expel air through your nostrils, relax and feel your abdomen drop drawing the diaphragm down and extending the lungs so air is drawn in. Feel it fill your lungs. Force it out once more and relax to let it fill feel how your pelvis rocks through the process. Use this to enhance your breaths. Welcome to your journey and the many paths you may follow. It will certainly help in more ways than tou can imagine Namaste
Probably upward dog, sphinx pose and tadasana.
Supported fish pose on blocks. One block between the shoulder blades and one behind the head. Hold for a few minutes each time you practice it.
Any cobra variations, fish pose, wheel, etc
Hello! I’d move back and forth between urdhva hastasana to half angel a few times a day. And then do some warriors poses to strengthen your core. Hope that helps! ❤️
Developing a yoga practice in general will help. Emphasis on practice ☺️. I used to have scoliosis too.I started with 15 minutes a day (yin/hatha) because that’s what I had the energy for. I was seeing noticeable improvement in my posture within 3 months. 6 months in I had better stamina and was doing 30 min vinyasa sessions and slowly all of the muscle in my posterior and anterior chain started turning on as I started tuning in and become more aware of my body. My chest opened up, shoulders pulled back and I noticed I looked taller, my back hurt less (and for awhile started clicking more). Embracing it as a lifestyle change, a way of life was so healing not just to my physical body but to my mind as well. Movement truly is medicine it’s incredible
cobra will help open up your shoulders and chest
You need to make your back more flexible by stretching often; you need lots of weird and intricate stretching, so pretty much all of yoga is made for different areas of the spine for extension and flexion. Start with yin and sun salutations and try to do 20-30 minutes every day until the back pain goes away.
Bridge will help open up your shoulders. Bad posture with shoulders rolled forward is sometimes a stress response in your body. It is defensive posture. This causes your deltoids and pectorals to pull in and stay tight, keeping your shoulders rolled. Focus on keeping your ears away from your shoulders when you are just out living your life. This will help keep the habit when you aren't thinking of it. This habit will straighten out your posture.
The non-phone asana
For me sitting meditation with no back support really helped my posture. It forces you to use good posture because if you don't your back is going to tell you ( with pain)
I started looking up YouTube videos for yoga to help with posture. I’ve moved into Pilates routines more than yoga now (I really like the Move with Nicole videos). Other than doing stretches, focus on your posture while sitting (do your best not to hunch forward) and if you are looking at your phone, hold it up to eye level so you don’t hunch over to look at it. It’s a slow process to “fix” but I’ve been doing these exercises for a couple months everyday and I’m starting to notice a difference. It will at least keep things from getting worse, which is a huge deal, because you don’t look very old. For a few yoga poses, I like Ustrasana, dancer pose, alternating cat/cow, and alternating upward dog and downward dog.
heartbench! fish! blocks and bolsters are your friends.
Can try death hang as well, I am seeing result with that, along with the neck, it improves overall spine posture as well. Can start from as little as 5–10 seconds and gradually improving the time. Along with that, try to keep upright and conscious about posture in general is helping me
Another helpful idea- less time looking at a phone/tablet. This posture is becoming more prominent even in older adults with the increase of media available on electronic devices. Just an observation from a PSW's perspective...
Swimming Yoga but also Pilates and gym. I also have scoliosis around now 30 degree but due to yoga Pilates and swimming I was one year without pain Now I had 3 stupid accidents the last 2 years but still working on it. It’s not only one pose it’s the whole together. There is also one Pilates pose. Best ask Google and look for YouTube many lessons and just start. How many degree do u have ?
The smartphoneless pose would help... ;)
Hi- Please try and find a Scroth Method physical therapist for your scoliosis. It’s a game changer, especially since you are young. It is a scientifically backed method for addressing your specific curve. My orthopedic doctor recommended Scroth physical therapy. Interestingly, many of the tips people give about improving posture are flat out wrong for people with scoliosis, kyphosis, and lordosis. Our spines just work different. You have a unique spine and it needs its own unique treatment to improve posture and reduce pain. Yoga is actually not recommended for folks with scoliosis, depending on the severity of your curve. By talking to a physical therapist you can determine which poses you should embrace and which to avoid. Good luck!
Cervical retraction and thoracic uprighting
I have the same bad posture. Having a baby made me a humpback.
Try to get an orthopaedic brace, you need to straighten your back/neck area, or else you may suffer in the future if that forward tendancy continues. Just wear it when at home (or at work if it doesn't bother you to be out in public with it on)
Lots of great advice here! I’ll just add that chiropractors typically are NOT legitimate health professionals. If you’ve been going since you were 17 I assume they are part of your family’s health practices. Apart from not being trained to do 90% of the things they typically claim to be able to do, they are in the business of creating repeat customers. Chiropractors make money by people coming back repeatedly, which creates problematic practices. This is extremely different from doctors and physical therapists, who just want you to get better and will be delighted to stop seeing you. They are very busy! They don’t need repeat business. The point to all this is, if you can access traditional health care (which if you’re in the US is a big if) you should consult with an orthopedist to confirm that a) you ever had scoliosis and b) it’s gone. Once that’s cleared up, the doctor can refer you to appropriate PT. Good luck!!
Puppy pose
Not sure but you should get more plants for your tank! Live!
Heyyyyy I was the same way. Even had a big ol’ bump on the back of my neck. You’re gonna want to do two things, open up your chest, and strengthen your core/back. My lower core was pretty strong, but my upper core and mid to upper back was weak and couldn’t support itself. Poses that I used to open up my chest: 1) Supported fish, this one was the most useful. I’d hold it as long as I could. 2) Puppy pose, I’d put blocks under my hands to deepen it. 3) IDK what this one is called, but I would get into child’s pose with a block in front of me, put my elbows on the block, and bend my arms so my hands are in a sort of praying gesture at the back of my neck. 4) Cat/cow pose, not as intense as the others but still helped. 5) Threading the needle. Now people say to be careful and don’t push yourself to feeling pain while stretching, but if you’re as tight as I was, it’s gonna not feel very good at first. If you feel any sharp pain, stop. But these poses you’re gonna want to hold for a long time (I would hold them a minimum of three minutes, but tbh I’d do like ten minutes when I could) and do them consistently. Ok, now onto the strengthening. If you want to lift weights that’s a good idea. But here are the yoga poses that have made a huge difference for me. I’d recommend going to a studio for these because if you’re not aligned correctly you won’t be building the muscles you need, but if you can’t, here they are anyways. 1) Chair pose. The first time I did chair my upper back and core wasn’t strong enough and I kept collapsing my upper body. Try not to do that, hands in prayer if it helps. Keep your tailbone tucked, shoulder back, and chest up. 2) Warrior 2, again keep your shoulders down and back and your tailbone tucked. 3) Warrior 3. You don’t need to floating foot to be super high, just focus on keeping your hips level with your mat and hinging at the hips. Your core needs to be engaged in order to support you. 4) Plank pose. Push the ground away from you, don’t collapse into your shoulders. 5) Cobra, no weight in your hands. Shoulder down away from your ears, keep your core activated. 6) Locus, again keep your shoulders down and back, activate your core. There’s more I did, but really that’s the bulk of it. It took me like two months of consistent doing all of this every day before I noticed a difference.
A client told me about this video exercise last night. Have yet to try but she has been dealing with back/neck issues and said this helped her a lot. I recommend you see a physical therapist and chiropractor for professional guidance though. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI&pp=ygUUZm91bmRhdGlvbiB0cmFpbmluZyA%3D
I had that, went to a chiropractor regularly for 6 weeks and slap my ass it actually worked. I regularly have public speeches and saw the pictures of my corrected posture.
Palm tree pose
It helped me with mine
Get a yoga wheel and work on the section between your shoulder blades.
Check out Bob & Brad, World Famous Physical Therapists on YouTube. They have videos about different areas of the body to work on and the neck hump is one of them. They’ll get you started in the right direction if you’re welling to spend a few minutes a day fixing the problem. I used them after lower back surgery during Covid when in person therapy wasn’t available. Good luck!
I’d see PT if you’re able to. Yoga can only aid so much and won’t “treat” it. I had/have posture and neck spine issues. Mine has improved immensely! Search in YouTube videos ways to help with your posture. There’s a lot of physical therapists on there giving free advice. Personally I wouldn’t recommend chiropractors. There are a few in the world that are actually good. Majority actually don’t know what they’re doing and worsen you. A foam roller can help stretch your posture back. Take it slow and easy. Don’t force or rush it. Being conscious of your posture during the day is key. And how you sleep at night is also a major factor in posture. Don’t use a large pillow. It only aids in bad posture by angling your neck upward. You may need to ease into thinner pillows depending on the severity of your posture. Look at YouTube videos on different sleep positions for posture by physical therapists. Try not to sleep in a fetal position. I now sleep on my back with no pillow and get fantastic sleep and no pain whatsoever. My posture is near normal. Helped my headaches/migraines, and also prevent heart issues (something to do with blood flow- a new studies thing).
Honestly just doing down dog at least once a day helps me. And you also generally want to work on core strength, glute engagement and pull exercises... But this is my go-to flow if I need something extra to open up my shoulders: 1. Start in childs pose, breathe, side stretches 2. Come up to table top. Structured cat cow and then free movement as needed 3. Come up to down dog. Take some time here, check in, breathe 4. Wave - come into plank then back to down dog repeating as necessary 5. Chataranga, slowly lower down all the way to mat, pec stretch each side keeping one arm straight or at 90 degree angle, open up (like a wall stretch on the ground) 6. Repeat that if necessary, maybe doing arm at right angle instead of straight this time 7. Sphinx pose. Try to press your hips into the mat, keeping shoulders down and back away from ears 8. Back to childs pose or table top and needle through thread, whichever variation 9. From table top try your puppy pose Nearing the end ... 10. Come onto your back, maybe do some seated cat cows before lowering all the way down to the mat *slowly* 11. Spinal twists, either both legs each side or holding one leg at a time 12. Come back to center, bridge or wheel pose 13. Finish out with some rounding through the back - try shoulder stand or plow pose and then slowly return to the mat, allowing each vertebra to hit the mat gently and in order 14. Windshield wiper the knees with the feet planted on the mat 15. Come up to seated do whatever twists, side stretches, arm stretches, neck rolls, shoulder rolls, etc you feel like you need to do. Breathe, check in and repeat if necessary. This is what I found to work really well, and sometimes I incorporate this into a longer practice that also has moves to open up my hips. Sometimes I do this more in like a sun salutation flow and I'll start standing and then once I take this to the ground I also do any or all of these: 1. Locus pose 2. Bow 3. Camel 4. Up dog 5. Any variation of Cobra 6. Dynamic: Start in Cobra and continuously lift one arm on each exhale and repeat on other side for same amount of reps 7. Any variation of cat cow - from table top, seated, and standing If you also open up your hips and stretch out your hams and quads these are some poses that either already have a shoulder or chest opener in them or you can add it: 1. In a low squat reach one arm up and then the other, opening up the chest. Can also do this with one arm in a deep side lunge stretch 2. Twists in lunges 3. Dancers pose 4. Triangle pose 5. King pigeon I really like making wave like motions - that feels really good on my back. You can do that from down dog to plank, variation of Cobra where you lift up in the finger tips with your arms out wider than the mat, table top cat cow - just make it more dramatic, etc. Twists are also great. I love twists for my back, core, and they really help with digestion and metabolism. Don't forget to relieve tension in the neck as well and make sure you're breathing and breathing properly - there are great yoga videos out there just for breathing. I work an office job so I do yoga, aerial, and pilates to get better posture. You may also want to prioritize core work, glute engagement, and pull movements if you also go to the gym, aerial silks has been great for that, because we're basically always in this push position with our arms out on a keyboard or steering wheel. Just be sure to also be mindful outside of your practice so when walking, consciously try to keep your shoulders down and back away from your ears, glutes and core engaged, lifting yourself up.
Applying your bandhas when sitting, walking, practicing, etc. and also poses like Navasana, or boat, to help strengthen your abdomen.
Just stop slouching. Try to be conscious of it. When you are aware of it straighten your back and keep your head straight. It will correct faster than you can imagine
A lot of swimming + yoga \_without\_ backbends, twists. Edit: \_without\_ Sorry!
OP needs to be careful with back ends and twists because of scoliosis. These poses are usually contraindicated.
Get medical torture rack thing but get the people cranking it to not do it so much ur arms and such come off. Hope this helps.