INFOGRAPHIC: Treating modern body pains with yoga

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos spend a big chunk of their day hunched over a screen, be it a computer, tablet, or smart phone. In 2014, Filipinos were found to spend an average of a whopping 53 hours a week on social media – that’s 9 hours more than the global average. It’s not only their eyesight that they should be worried about, there’s also their posture.  

When you’re seated and stooped over for hours at a time, there’s no telling what kind of repercussions that could have on your neck, shoulders, and back; not to mention your wrists and fingers. 

These body pains are the afflictions of the modern Pinoy, not just your typical office worker. Even dedicated athletes suffer their own set of pains, as well as media or events planners who are subject to tight deadlines and skyrocketing levels of stress. 

In one of the sutras in the yoga practice, there’s one teaching that preaches “doing the opposite.” This applies whenever you are feeling anything negative. For instance, when anger arises, don’t choose anger; do the opposite. Or when you feel like picking a fight, make amends; do the opposite. It’s a simple, yet practical maxim.  

The same motto applies when it comes to the body. When you spend the entire day idle and seated, stand up and stretch. When you find your habitual posture is hunched and curved, straighten it and do some mild back bends. You would be surprised at how effective this little teaching really is. 

In order to treat our modern afflictions with “doing the opposite,” we asked Maricar Holopainen of Urban Ashram Yoga to suggest simple poses that could potentially change the way you sit up. After all, the more consistently you maintain a posture, the more you are ingraining the same habit in the mind. Just remember that by sitting up a little straighter each day, you might start building the positivity that you need in life. — Rappler.com

If you want to sign up for a class, check out the Urban Ashram Yoga studio locations here.