So you have Backache and aching legs due to bad posture? – Part two of six

So you have Backache and aching legs due to bad posture?

The last of the seated postures: Samasana or (The Symmetrical Pose)

Sit down on the floor and bend the right leg, placing the heel against the pubic bone and resting against the left thigh. Bend the left leg and place the foot over the right one so that the heel is set against the pubic bone and the toes are pushed between the right thigh and calf. People who cannot master the other three seated postures I have described are often able to sit down in Samasana without difficulty or discomfort. All three positions will hold the spine in a naturally erect position and so promote better posture.

The effective functioning of the entire organism is closely linked to the healthy condition of the spinal column and cord. As your body grows older there is a tendency for the vertebrae to become rigid especially after a lifetime of abuse in the form of bad sitting, walking or standing. If the body is habitually held in postures which involve slouching the spinal column tends to get out of alignment. In discussing this problem of backache we must face the fact that much of it is due to bad posture. Cure the one and the other disappears, and automatically there is an improvement in the genera! health and well-being.
I must warn you before I go any farther that a few days practice of the asanas I will describe in this chapter will not eliminate the effects of years of bad posture. If you would cure your backache, your round shoulders, and your rather ungraceful carriage you will have to work at it. You must keep a wary eye open at all times to see if you are slouching. People who work at typewriters are among the worst offenders here. Do sit with the base of your spine firmly against the back of your chair so that the back of it supports the lower back. Sit erect at all times and soon it will become a healthy habit.
The following simple exercise will help to limber up the spine and prepare it for more difficult postures. It is easy and bracing and is a vital first blow in our battle against bad posture.
Try this when you get out of bed in the morning.

The Half Somersault
1.    Sit down cross-legged and grasp your toes with your arms outside your knees.
2.    Bend forward and try to touch the floor with your forehead. No? Well bend forward as far as you can.
3.    Still holding your toes straighten your back and at the same time inhale deeply through the nose.
4.    Hold your breath for a moment and then bend forward again while exhaling and when your lungs are empty roll backwards keeping your chin pressed firmly down into your chest in the chin lock I have mentioned before.
5.    Roll forwards once more while inhaling until your spine is straight. Hold this position while you complete your inhalation.
6.    While exhaling through your mouth bend forward once more to the starting position.

And that is all.
Very easy this one, but two points to remember. The whole exercise should be performed slowly and rhythmically, with nasal inhalations and oral exhalations. It is best performed with the eyes closed which are very calming to the mind and nerves. The benefits are many but principally the Half Somersault brings into play the muscles of the back, toning and stretching the whole of the spinal column.

Keep coming back here for not just tips on real health issues, but more on the ancient practice of Hatha Yoga, which is now widely accepted in the western world especially in the USA.
Better late than never I say “quote Gaylene Slater”
Or you can hit the buy now button on the right of this article and purchase this great book in one complete hit and be reading it within minutes!

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If you are suffering from Backache and aching legs due to bad posture, – Part one of sixread on.

If you are suffering from Backache and aching legs due to bad posture, read on.

HAVE we not often admired the graceful and dignified carriage of the average Indian man and woman, the coltish grace of their brown-limbed children? There is no magical secret to this natural grace; it is simply that in the East there are two natural sitting positions which are adopted from early childhood. One of these is cross-legged, whether in the so-called tailor fashion or with the soles upturned, in the classical Lotus Posture. The other is on the haunches with the feet flat on the floor.

Americans complain that the cross-legged and squatting positions are unnatural and so they are—to those who are used to sitting on chairs. But in the East they are so accustomed to sitting like that that they actually find it more comfortable than any other position. Years of sitting in these positions tends automatically to hold the spine in a naturally erect position, not rigidly straight as some people seem to think, but held with its natural curves in the right place. And so, in walking the spine is also held naturally and gracefully and this is the simple ‘secret’ behind the superb carriage of the average Indian.

I do not for one moment expect the average American who reads this book to acquire the habit of sitting down in the Lotus Pose or even in one of the easier cross-legged poses. These positions should be included in the daily schedule of Yoga exercises and held for a limited time only unless you wish to proceed to the more contemplative forms of Yoga. The Lotus Posture, though graceful and serene in appearance is difficult and painful for the beginner and likewise the Half-Lotus position I have demonstrated on the cover.
However, there are three cross-legged poses which are not beyond the reach of the suppler among you; though I warn you that even quite young people in their early twenties sometimes have knees so stiff that they cannot sit cross-legged on the floor. I will describe these seated postures in turn, beginning with the LOTUS POSITION and you can try them for yourself.

1.    Lotus Position
The advantage of this position is that it forms a symmetrical and firm seat so that the Yogis, in states of deep spiritual trance, did not overbalance. Sit down on the floor with your legs stretched out, feet together. Take the right foot in both hands and place it high up on the left thigh. The right knee should be pressed firmly to the floor. Take the left foot in both hands and draw it gently over the bent right leg so that the left foot is placed on the right thigh.
2.    Siddhasana (Half-Lotus position)
If you are unable to master the Lotus position this one is considered by many to be somewhat easier, and at the same time more comfortable. Certainly it is preferred by many Yogis to the full Lotus Pose.  Sit down as before and place one foot with the heel against the perineum. The other foot is then placed on the opposite thigh with the heel pressed against the pubic bone. The hands should be placed as in the Lotus Pose, with the thumb and first fingers joined and the palms upwards.
3.    Easy Pose
Sit down on the floor, tailor fashion, with the heel of one foot touching the perineum and the heel of the other underneath the opposite ankle. This is considerably easier than either the Lotus or Half Lotus positions.

If you are very stiff and find all three of these positions agonizing, then please do not pursue the matter. I do not want you to suffer unnecessary pain, but if you think you possibly could master one or all of them then do try for the sake of your posture.

Keep coming back here for not just tips on real health issues, but more on the ancient practice of Hatha Yoga, which is now widely accepted in the western world especially in the USA.
Better late than never I say “quote Gaylene Slater”
Or you can hit the buy now button on the right of this article and purchase this great book in one complete hit and be reading it within minutes!