12 Exercises for Better Posture

How to Do a Child’s Pose

1. Start in a high plank position, shoulders stacked over wrists, core engaged, pulling up on your kneecaps to engage your quads. Create a straight line from the head to the toes through the torso.
2. Drop your knees to the mat and shift your weight back. Push your hips back towards your heels to sit back into child’s pose. Keeping your arms extended out away from your body, as you drop your forehead to the mat.
3. Take a big inhale in child’s pose.

How to Do a Forward Fold

1. Start standing in Mountain Pose, feet hip-distance apart (or wider if needed), toes pointing straight ahead.
2. As you inhale, reach your hands overhead.
3. As you exhale, soften your knees and slowly fold forward from your hips. Push your hips back towards the wall behind you.
4. Keep a soft bend in your knees as you reach your fingertips towards the mat.

How to Do a Cat Cow

1. Start in a table top position (quadruped) on all fours. Shoulders are stacked over wrists and hips are stacked over knees.
2. Find a neutral spine — think of the spine as a straight line connecting the shoulders to the hips. Keep the neck long by looking down and out.
3. As you inhale, find an arch pose by curling your toes under and tilting your pelvis back so that your tailbone sticks up. Drop the belly down as you draw your navel in.
4. Take your gaze gently up toward the ceiling. This is cow pose.
5. On your exhale, round out for cat pose. Release the tops of your feet to the floor and tuck your tailbone.
6. Draw your navel toward your spine and drop your head, gazing toward your navel.
7. Repeat this sequence of arching and rounding out for the time at your skill level.

How to Do a Chest Opener

1. Lie on top of the foam roller vertically. Have the roller positioned between your shoulder blades (in the middle of your back). If your foam roller is not long enough, add a yoga block to make sure your neck and head are also supported.
2. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, open your arms towards your sides, letting your arms fall open to open the chest.
3. Hold this pose, arms extended out to the sides. Option to “goal post” your arms (90-degree bend at the elbows) to intensify this chest opening stretch.

How to Do a Bird Dog

1. Find a quadruped position with your knees hip-width apart and hands firmly on the ground, about shoulder-width apart. Engage your core.
2. Find a bird dog position by extending your right leg back, floating it off the ground. As you extend the right leg back, extend the opposite arm, the left arm, straight out in front of you.
3. Hold the right leg back and left arm out for a moment, then return to the starting position on all fours.
4. Then repeat this movement on the other side of the body, extending the left leg long and the right arm straight out in front of you.

How to Do a Reverse Table Top

1. Start seated on the ground.
2. Place your hands behind you on the mat, shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing towards you (fingers facing your butt) and legs bent at 90 degrees in front of you.
3. Lean back as you lift your hips up towards the ceiling while pressing firmly into your hands and feet. Arms straight.
4. Hold at the top with knees at a 90-degree angle and thighs and torso parallel to the floor.
5. Let your neck fall back as you open the front side of your body, holding this reverse tabletop pose.

How to Do a High Plank

1. Start in a table top position with shoulders stacked over wrists (soft bend in the elbows) and hips over knees. Hands are planted firmly on the mat, weight evenly distributed between all 10 fingers.
2. Then step both feet back, legs extended long, balancing on your toes. Pull up on your kneecaps and push back on your heels to keep your core engaged.
3. Hold this plank position, maintaining a straight line with your body, gaze slightly in front of you.

Modification: Place your hands on a raised surface (such as a chair, couch, or countertop) or on your forearms if you suffer from wrist pain.

How to Do a Downward-Facing Dog

1. Start in a table top position (quadruped) on all fours; shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees.
2. Actively press your hands into the mat as you tuck your toes under.
3. As you exhale, lift your knees off the mat, straightening your legs as you press your hips up towards the ceiling.
4. Hold this position, pressing your chest towards your thighs.

How to Do a Thoracic Spine Rotation

1. Begin on your hands and knees in a quadruped position. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders, and your knees should be under your hips.
2. Place your left hand behind your head and gently press into your head with your fingertips. Keep your elbow pointing out to the side.
3. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, slowly rotate your left elbow and shoulder open, lifting your left elbow towards the ceiling. Gaze follows left elbow. Keep your hips even and stable. Rotate only as far as you can without straining or causing discomfort.
4. Then, on an exhale, reverse the movement, bringing your left elbow down towards your right wrist.

How to Do a Superman

1. Lie face down on a mat or flat surface with your legs straight out behind you. Then, reach your arms overhead, extending your hands away from your body. Keep your neck in a neutral position by looking down towards the floor.
2. Take a deep breath and engage your core muscles to lift your arms and chest off the ground simultaneously.
3. Hold the top position for a second, squeezing your glutes and lower back muscles to keep your chest lifted.
4. With control, lower your upper body towards the mat, returning to the starting position.

How to Do a Glute Bridge

1. Lie flat on the floor on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, feet hip-width apart.
2. Press through the heels to lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. 
3. Keep your abs drawn in, belly button pulled towards the spine, so you don’t overextend your back.