Yoga is so much more fun and exciting when you are able to fully express some of the more advanced yoga poses like lord of the dance, flying crow or heron pose. The problem for many is that practice does not often make perfect because of postural imbalances that limit mobility. Many yogis believe they need more flexibility or devotion or both when all they really need is posture correction for better mobility. Below are the 2 most common posture imbalances that get in the way of more advanced yoga poses and the quick mobility exercises you can do daily to fix them.
Upper Cross Sydrome - a.k.a. kyphosis, hunchback or humpback syndrome, or forward head, forward shoulder posture
This postural imbalance is often caused by working at a desk for long hours and is also very common with athletes especially those who tend to over-train all the muscles in the front of the body (too many pushups, presses, and crunches and not enough pullups, rows, and back extensions). The muscles of the upper back are tight and weak resulting in forward shoulder and forward head posture, altered breathing, and a stiff neck. There are many yoga poses that can correct this imbalance but you would need to spend A LOT of time in them daily in order to get results. If you don't have 30-60 minutes a day to spend on static poses to correct posture then try the quick mobility exercises below. This routine takes 3 minutes at most and can be done daily before workouts, before bed, or before yoga practice. Check out my video to see how.
Multi-directional chop 10-12 (each direction counts as one rep)
Shoulder spine integrator 8-10 (each side)
Alternating scorpions with bent arms 10-15 (total reps)
Cobra back extensions 8-12 (notice the palms facing out not in)
Lower Cross Sydrome - a.k.a. swayback posture, LCD, pelvic crossed syndrome, PCS, Pink Panther or Donald duck stance.
This postural imbalance is a combination of very weak abs, weak & tight glutes, tight hip flexors, adductors, IT band, hamstrings, quads (too many other tight muscles to list). The result is an excessive curvature of the low back, a poochy looking belly even if you are not overweight and is often seen in runners, dancers, people who sit for long periods of time or those who stand on hard floors for many hours a day. Like upper cross syndrome there are many yoga poses that can correct this but if you don't have an hour a day for static posture correction then the two mobility exercises below will work faster than anything else you can do. Watch my quick yoga for hip mobility video to see how.
Deep lunge with twist and hip drop 8-10 (each side)
Pigeon prep to seated twist 8-10 (each side)
Improve mobility and float into advanced yoga poses with ease with Shiva Rea: Daily Energy - Vinyasa Flow Yoga
