This pose lengthens the spine and increases spinal awareness, as well as strengthening the muscles in the upper back, arms and hands. It also improves circulation and releases tension across the shoulders, and in the neck and face. Below are three variations on the Dog Pose. Try them all out and see which one suits you best.This pose lengthens the spine and increases spinal awareness, as well as strengthening the muscles in the upper back, arms and hands. It also improves circulation and releases tension across the shoulders, and in the neck and face. Below are three variations on the Dog Pose. Try them all out and see which one suits you best.
Good posture is especially important during pregnancy for the following reasons.
* It holds your womb,
in which your baby lies, in its correct position in the lower abdomen. This makes your pregnancy a far more comfortable experience for both of you.
* It relieves backache and can avoid its onset.
* It creates more space in the chest and abdominal areas, which become increasingly crowded by the presence of the growing baby.
* It improves breathing, and therefore your energy levels, because it gives the diaphragm more room to move.
* It improves digestion, which cannot function properly if there is compression in the abdomen.
* It prevents congestion in the circulatory system to the womb, upon which your baby depends for all its nourishment.
* It streamlines your figure, however large or small the bump.
* It makes you feel great. Standing and walking tall express a positive outlook whereas the general compression and congestion that result from poor posture, can make your energy stagnate and your mood depressed.
Although changes to your figure may be hard to detect in the early days, especially in your first pregnancy, it is important to concentrate on your posture from the start, before any bad habits are established.
Dog pose
This pose lengthens the spine and increases spinal awareness, as well as strengthening the muscles in the upper back, arms and hands. It also improves circulation and releases tension across the shoulders, and in the neck and face. Below are three variations on the Dog Pose. Try them all out and see which one suits you best.
* Hold on to a table, stool or radiator and step away from it until your spine and arms are stretched and horizontal to the floor, and your feet are hipwidth apart. It helps initially if someone checks that your back is flat. Keep your head and neck horizontal. so that your ears are in line with your arms. Breathe deeply and bend your knees slightly if this helps you stretch further.
* Make a right angle by walking your hands forward (shoulder-width apart) with knees bent. Straighten your legs (feet hip-width apart) on a breath out,bringing your heels to the floor if you can. As you breathe in, stretch through the low breaths, breathing deeply.
* From the position , balance on one leg and raise the other. Keep the knee of the leg that is on the floor bent. Push down into your arms and hands. Now change legs to repeat on the other side.
Alignment of the spine
Your posture can be improved simply by becoming aware and straightening up whenever you notice that you are drooping. The back of the body, being bonier than the front, has less sensation (fewer nerve endings), so it is quite difficult to be aware of the position of your spine.It helps to stand or sit against a surface such as a wall, so you can feel whether your muscles are holding your spine firmly upright or are slack. with practice, both awareness and posture will improve as you locate and strengthen the relevant muscles.
* Stand with feet a short distance from the wall and hands behind your waist. press against the wall with head, shoulders, waist and buttocks. Lengthen your neck, lowering your chin. Breathe in and stand as tall as you can. Hold this stretch and contact with the wall as you breathe out. Repeat a few times.
* Now bring your heels and calves against the wall and repeat the same stretch up as you breathe in, maintaining contact with the wall as you breathe out. Repeat.
* Bring your hands to your sides and press your waist against the wall as you stretch up, breathing in. Maintain contact with the wall as you breathe out. Repeat.
* Bend one knee and clasp both hands around your shin. Draw your thigh close to your chest as you breathe out, balancing on your straight leg, Release the pull on your shin as you breathe in and stretch up,maintaining contact with the wall. Repeat.
* Sit on a low stool with knees apart and feet firmly planted on the floor. Maintain contact with the wall with your head, shoulders, waist and buttocks as you breathe in and stretch up, then breathe out and hold the upward stretch.
* Once you have found and strengthened your spinal muscles, practise lifting up through your spine whenever you are standing or sitting.
