Say 'NO' to slouching...(& don't miss the note at the end :)

The other night after class my beautiful student, Ashley, showed me this picture from her recent wedding.

"Thanks for being in my head that day telling me to "lengthen" and to "pull my shoulder blades down my back", she said.

There are so many reasons to make good posture a habit.  Here are just a few:

• you will look slimmer, taller & more confident
• you will breathe more efficiently
• because you will breathe more efficiently, you will be able to think clearly and improve your concentration
• you will be less likely to have back and joint pain 

A properly aligned spine spreads weight evenly throughout your body.  When you sit and stand with good posture all of your parts can do their jobs with ease because they aren't overcompensating and jammed up due to misalignment.  Good posture is a habit.  A regular yoga practice helps bring awareness to your posture habits throughout the day so you can begin to make adjustments.

One place to start is to consistently gently engage your core.  That's right.  You heard me....Suck it IN!  Another thing you can do is  to work on strengthening the muscles that run beside your spine.  Two great poses for doing that are:

Locust

and

 Cobra

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Keep  your eye on the schedule.....Soul Yoga LOunge will be opening next month.  My schedule in Springdale and Fayetteville will change.  Also, in July I'll be back at YogaStory regularly on Sundays at 11:45.