“The human body is not an instrument to be used, but a realm of one’s being,
to be experienced, explored, enriched and thereby educated.”

— Thomas Hanna

The reason why yoga made such an impact on me was because my body had become a place of discomfort and pain, and yoga fixed this. Many years of being stressed and working behind a computer, had left so much tension in my body that it became misaligned; I had hunched shoulders and my head moved forward, causing pain in my back and neck. I was permanently compressing my chest and abdomen, which was impacting my breathing and I’m pretty sure it also played a role with my digestive issues. Then when I had major surgery in my abdomen, I couldn’t sit up straight anymore and I was in constant pain. I tried many things, but the three months of private yoga lessons (twice a week), were transformative. I really wish I had taken before and after pictures as it would have just told the story. Yoga was amazing in opening up my body and reconnecting my mind, body and breath, to feel whole again. It was so amazing that I just had to learn more and share this practice.

While studying yoga therapy at Kripalu I was introduced to Somatic Exercises; slow, purposeful movement, effectively restructuring of the alignment of the body (posture) by retraining the brain.

When we first learn to make movements (sitting, walking, etc) the brain learns which muscles to contract in order to make the movements, it will then release when we relax. When we start introducing habits, postures we hold for long periods of time (for instance hunching over a desk, looking at a screen, wearing a bag always on one side), it causes the body to hold the muscle tension in on certain muscles for a period of time (with hunching the abdominal and chest muscles are engaged, the bag causes one shoulder to elevate) and the brain starts to think this is the norm. In other words this is the relaxed state. It doesn’t know what the actual relaxed state is anymore, because you spend so much time in your habitual shape. This ‘forgetting’ of the brain is called Sensory Motor Amnesia.

So it’s not just that muscles get short and tight, the brain keeps engaging the muscle as it thinks this is the normal state.  So you cannot just stretch the muscle longer, you need to retrain the brain to reset the relaxed state. Somatic Exercises, they do just that. By slow, purposeful short practices, relearning what the neutral position of a muscle is and therefor improving posture and removing pain.

Stretching will not retrain the brain and as the stretch reflex will ensure the muscle fibre is not overstretched, the stretching usually is transferred to the connective tissue – it is also just a short term result. Enter pandiculation; the body’s natural way of stretching; you see animals do it (cat stretch) and you probably do it instinctively when you wake up in the morning. It is an active stretch, a full body yawn.

It starts with a voluntary contraction, followed by a slow, and controlled lengthening (using gravity as weight), followed by complete relaxation of the targeted muscles.  Giving the brain time to integrate the new feedback – it’s the reprogramming of the brain to note where a muscle is relaxed.

Somatics consist of a number very slow and purposeful practices, all done without any props on the floor. The only thing you need to ensure is that you do it very slow and every day. From personal experience I am certain you will start feeling the impact very soon!

Modern life has caused many of us to slowly move our heads forward and round our shoulders.

By looking down whilst reading a book, looking at our phones or sitting at a desk our heads start to constantly extend and causing strain on our neck muscles. Our heads are very heavy (think bowling ball) and forward head movement means we need to counter balance with our neck and shoulders. This changing of our shape is called “forward head position” and it is very common in our western world.

This can also start causing issues in our lower back and give us headaches and many other health issues. I stumbled across the simple 2-minute practice below (click here for more), which you can even do seated at your desk. When done frequently, it can really start to adress this issue by opening the muscles at the front of the shoulders and strengthening the muscles around our shoulder blades and neck. By making a Y, W, L and T shape with our arms.

• First use your index finger and gentle push your chin back so your head aligns on top of your spine. Feeling your neck lengthening upwards. Then release your hand and try and keep your head in this neutral position. If this causes pain in any way, please do not do this step; it should feel awkward at worst.

• On your next inhale reach your arms up, palms facing each other so you are in a Y-shape. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your head neural as you breathe 3 slow breaths; in through the nose and out through the mouth, pursing the lips so the exhale becomes longer.

• After 3 breaths on the next exhale, start to lower your elbows down and your hands out, so you make a W-shape. It should feel like your shoulder blades are gently squeezing together and move down. Ensure your head stays neutral and also make sure you don’t start to over-arch your lower back, perhaps slightly pulling the navel in to stay with a neutral spine. Keep your shoulders relaxed and again breathe 3 slow breaths.

• After 3 breaths on the next exhale, start to move your elbows towards your waist and move your hands down, palms facing up, making a (sort of) L-shape. Again keeping the head neutral, shoulders relaxed, breathing 3 slow breaths.

• After 3 breaths, start to straighten your arms, lifting your hands up so you are making a T-shape with your body. Your hands might be further back than your body, squeezing the shoulder blades even further together. Be gentle, don’t force, head neutral, shoulders relaxed, 3 breaths.

• Then gently bring your arms down by your side and notice the sensations in your shoulders and chest. Notice your head position.

A handy acronym to remember the sequence: You, Will, Look, Taller.

There are so many practices that can help and in yoga, there are many postures that help opening the chest and strengthen the back, so even though above practice will help (and I would encourage you to do it a few times through the day, just to remind yourself of your posture), only with more frequent practice will you counter the many hours of bad posture. When you start practicing yoga more, you will notice that you are reminded of bad posture quicker and so you will you correct yourself quicker, breaking the bad posture cycle.

Disclaimer: These exercises are not medical or health advice. If you experience pain trying any of these activities, immediately discontinue them.