Sitting with Ease
Have you ever tried balancing a raw egg? There are only two days when this is possible: fall and spring equinox, when the earth’s gravitational pull is perfectly vertical. You balance the egg between your...
Overview
No one likes to be told to sit or stand up straight—we act as if slumping is our birthright. But consider this: our posture is with us every moment; it affects our circulation, digestion, and how we feel about ourselves. Poor posture contributes to chronic pain and adversely affects our breathing. Many teachers and blog posts talk about the importance of good posture, but few go into the details of how to achieve it. So when we try to straighten up, our efforts are often misdirected or short-lived.
In this seven-part series, Nema Nyar shares her 30-year quest for good posture and guides us in specific exercises and awareness practices that counter common postural misalignments. These posts take into consideration both the physical and emotional causes of poor posture and conclude with a focus on pranic alignment in seated meditation.
6-Part Series
A Powerful Stance: Freeing the Pelvis
Have you skipped lately? It’s a great cardio workout that is easy on the joints, engendering a childlike euphoria. In a 2012 study, 110 students from San Francisco State University walked in either a slumped...
A Regal Bearing: Centering the Head
Some of the most beautiful women, to my eye, are the sturdy young workers in India who carry bricks on their head at construction sites. The task develops perfect alignment of the head and neck...
Why Posture Matters
Someone asked Swami Rama, founder of the Himalayan Institute, why he stood so straight and tall. He answered, “So I don’t have the diseases that you people have!” He also consistently reinforced the need to...
Core Power: The Foundation for Spinal Alignment
It was in the mid-1980s in Bushwick, then a dilapidated section of Brooklyn, on my first day of a new job. I looked down a street of this ethnic neighborhood and saw crossing guards on...
Fluid Bones: Unlocking the Upper Spine
“Ya look like a gnome,” my ballet teacher said to me in her nasal New York accent in front of the whole class. She was referring to my rounded upper spine, which I couldn’t straighten...
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