Basic Postures and Breathing

Good posture increases our ability to breath more easily and strengthen our body muscles.  Some of the most popular posture positions used in yoga are:-

• Seated Posture
• Cross-Legged Posture
• Kneeling Posture
• Lying Down Posture

When practicing yoga or meditation, correct posture is very important to enable best results in your exercises and breathing.

Let’s first consider ‘Seating Posture’. Either use a chair, bench or stool for this posture. You need to keep your back straight as you sit up and hold your head and spine in alignment.  Resting your arms on the chair rests or hands on your knees is best, keeping your thighs parallel to the floor, this will give you the ideal sitting posture.

Now let’s consider a cross-legged posture.  Sit on the floor, cross your legs and tuck your feet under your legs, sitting upright with your head and spine in alignment and hands on you knees.  If this feels a little uncomfortable you can use a cushion to sit on.  This posture is often used as a position for mediation.

Kneeling postures help align your head, back and toes.  Kneel on the floor with your knees together and buttocks resting on your heels and toes, again it is very important to keep your head and spine aligned as straight as you can, resting the palm of your hands on your knees.

Finally, a lying down posture, referred to in yoga as the corpse or Savasana, is simply lying down flat on your back, best to this on a carpet or soft rug.  Your legs should be straight but relaxed and arms should also be out relaxed, with your head laid back and chin up.

If you are ever feeling stressed or overloaded with anxiety, using one of these four basic postures to practice some gentle breathing can be very helpful.