Source : Article Snatch

Most of us probably know that having a poor posture can make us look shorter than we actually are. Worse, poor posture can permanently affect your spine and muscles which causes them to contract making us physically shorter. So we should improve our posture to improve our height and the way people look at us.

If you are accustomed to holding up yourself with a poor posture, then the good news is that this can be readily remedied with certain exercises to help you to strengthen your muscles, improve your overall flexibility and to gain height. Here are three exercises for your shoulders, neck and spine to improve your posture.

Exercise #1 – Just sit down on a chair with your back straight and feet planted firmly flat on the ground. Relax your arms which are hanging by your sides with your palms down facing towards your body.

When you are in position, breathe in slowly and deeply while at the same time raising up your shoulders as high as they could go. When your shoulders are at their highest position, hold it there for a few seconds, then exhale slowly and release your shoulders back to their original positions.

This stretching exercise targets the shoulders and spine so much so that you can actually feel the effects of spine relaxation immediately while performing the exercise. Repeat the exercise a few more times to get its fullest effect.

Exercise #2 – Still in your sitting position as in the first exercise, this time focus your eyes just beyond the tip of the nose and put your right palm underneath your chin. When you are in position, inhale slowly and deeply and at the same time pressing your chin firmly with your palm so that you don’t lose the posture. You should feel your body rising upwards as you inhale. As with the first exercise, repeat it a few more times to feel its effect on your neck and back.

Exercise #3 – Again in a similar sitting position, tuck in your chin towards your throat. While in this position, breathe in deeply and slowly and then breathe out slowly. While breathing out, turn your head with your chin tucked to the left and at the same time keeping your shoulders as motionless as possible.

Now hold on to this position and again breathe in deeply and slowly. Then exhale slowly. Now as you are breathing out, turn your head back to the original position facing the front. Once in position, repeat the exercise with your head turning to the right and then back to the original position. Thereafter, repeat the exercise for a couple of times.

This exercise is designed to release the stress and tension stored in your neck and shoulder muscles. It is a great relaxation exercise for your spine as well.

Unknown to most people, many stretching exercises can help you to relief tension and stress, improve your posture and even increase your height. Yes, you have read the last bit correctly. Everyone can grow a little taller with the right exercise, good posture, diet and supplement, even if you are an adult. This is usually achieved by decompressing your spine. You can do your own research and see how this can be done.

How To Execute Yoga Postures Efficiently

Source : Article Snatch

The art of yoga, as many call it, basically relies on the combination of the spiritual and physical elements in the asanas or yoga postures; body and mind connect in a special relationship that is usually achieved by entering a unique meditation state. One gains a deeper understanding of the nature of the yoga postures only by means of advanced practice; we can actually say that by means of a meditation on the body one receives access to the inner depths of the being. This is why yoga is considered not only a quest for enlightenment but a journey towards unity. Nevertheless, one should be aware of the potential destructive nature of the asanas when not performed correctly.

For the execution of the yoga postures it is imperatively required that you have proper guidance; the help of a yogi master is irreplaceable since you are going to face the challenge of both body and mind as inflammations, muscle injuries, sprains and osteo-articular problems are very likely to occur when stretching for long periods of time. Therefore, the experts’ advice is to practice the yoga postures lightly and gently so that all negative body response may be avoided successfully. Keep in mind the fact that the yoga postures are just a means of opening the conscious and the subconscious to deep meditation.

Practicing various yoga postures increases mobility and flexibility, and most people who have integrated yoga in their lives claim to have regained a greater vitality than ever before. The key to the correct performance of body postures is breathing or what is known as Pranayama; this means that the yogi works with the life force, allowing it to move freely through the body. In the history of the yoga postures, sitting had a major function, but throughout the centuries lots of variations were included so that lying on the back and standing on the head have become common practice.

There is a clear-cut difference between the way yoga postures are practiced in the Far East and the way they have become popular in the western world. Traditionally speaking, yoga postures are cultivated and practiced for the sake of the meditation they facilitate; nevertheless, the modern westerner has discovered and developed the more physical and practical side of yoga. Tendon strength, stamina, regained vitality and a general state of well-being have definitely had a heavy word to say in the place yoga now occupies in the health modern practices.