About This Posture Improvement Routine
Hours of sitting compress your spine and shorten the muscles that pull you into poor posture. Research shows that targeted exercises can effectively reduce postural deviations like forward head posture and rounded shoulders.1 This posture lengthening routine reverses that compression, decompressing your spine and stretching the hip flexors, chest, and hamstrings that contribute to slumped posture.
What This Routine Targets
This flow addresses the key areas that affect your posture. You’ll extend your spine through upward-reaching positions, open the chest that rounds forward from desk work, release the hip flexors that tilt your pelvis, stretch the hamstrings that affect pelvic position, and finish with decompressing inversions.
What’s Included
This seven-minute routine includes eleven exercises that progressively lengthen your entire spine. You’ll move from standing reaches through lunges and dog poses to floor-based stretches, finishing with plow pose for complete spinal decompression.
Who Should Try This
This routine serves anyone whose posture suffers from modern life. Desk workers, drivers, and anyone who feels compressed after long periods of sitting will benefit. Use it daily to counteract the postural patterns that develop from our forward-focused lifestyles.
Tips for Best Results
Focus on creating length with each movement rather than forcing depth. The goal is decompression and lengthening, not aggressive stretching. Breathe fully into each position and imagine space being created between your vertebrae.
Upward Salute
Duration: 0:30
Sweep your arms skyward in upward salute to lengthen your spine and awaken your upper body.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
- Sweep your arms out and up overhead, keeping hands shoulder-width apart.
- Reach toward the ceiling while relaxing your shoulders and gazing slightly upward.
Tips
- Ground evenly through both feet.
- Engage your core to avoid arching your lower back.
Adjustments
- Place your hands behind your head or on your hips if raising them overhead feels intense.
Toe Touch
Duration: 0:30
Fold forward from standing to stretch your hamstrings and lower back with a calming release.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms relaxed by your sides.
- Hinge at your hips to fold forward, lowering your torso toward your legs.
- Relax your head, neck, and arms, aiming to place your palms on the floor.
Tips
- Lengthen through your spine as you fold.
- Keep legs straight but avoid locking your knees.
Adjustments
- Rest your hands on shins or thighs if the floor feels out of reach.
Chest Opener
Duration: 0:30
Open your heart space and stretch the front body with a simple yet powerful chest opener.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
- Clasp your hands behind your head and widen your elbows out to the sides.
- Gently squeeze shoulder blades together and lift your chest as you breathe in.
Tips
- Keep shoulders soft and away from your ears.
- Maintain a long spine rather than arching through the lower back.
Adjustments
- Hold a strap or towel behind your head if your hands do not quite meet comfortably.
Wide Leg Bend
Duration: 0:30
Fold forward with legs wide to stretch your hamstrings, hips, and lower back.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Stand with feet wide and toes pointing forward.
- Hinge at your hips to fold forward, lowering your torso toward your legs.
- Relax your head, neck, and arms, aiming to place your palms on the floor.
Tips
- Lengthen through your spine as you fold.
- Keep legs straight but avoid locking your knees.
- Hold ankles and draw your head closer if you want more stretch.
Adjustments
- Rest hands on shins or blocks if the floor feels far away.
Lunge
Duration: 1:00
Sink into a kneeling lunge to stretch your hip flexors and lengthen the front of your body.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Start kneeling and step one foot forward, planting it flat in front of you.
- Press your hips forward as you raise both arms overhead.
- Lift through your chest and reach toward the ceiling while breathing deeply.
Tips
- Keep the front knee stacked over the ankle for stability.
- Press the top of your back foot into the floor to engage the rear leg.
- Stay tall through your torso to avoid dumping into the lower back.
Adjustments
- Rest your hands on your front thigh if reaching overhead feels intense.
- Place a towel or cushion under your back knee for comfort.
- Hold onto a wall or chair for balance when needed.
Upward Dog
Duration: 0:30
Press into upward dog to open your chest and stretch the front of your body with strength.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Lie on your stomach with legs extended and hands under your shoulders.
- Press into your palms, straighten your arms, and lift your chest and thighs off the floor.
- Relax your shoulders away from your ears and gaze slightly upward.
Tips
- Only your palms and the tops of your feet should touch the floor.
- Keep arms straight without locking your elbows.
Adjustments
- Keep thighs on the floor for a gentler version if needed.
Downward Dog
Duration: 0:30
Press back into downward dog to lengthen your spine, open the shoulders, and stretch the entire backside.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Start in tabletop, tuck your toes, and press through your hands to lift hips up and back.
- Straighten your legs as much as feels good while keeping a soft bend in the knees.
- Reach your chest toward your thighs and lengthen through your spine as your heels reach toward the floor.
Tips
- Let your head hang between your arms so your neck relaxes.
- Spread weight evenly between hands and feet.
- Keep knees slightly bent if hamstrings feel tight.
Adjustments
- Bend the knees more deeply or elevate hands on a chair for a lighter option.
- Come onto your forearms or place a block under your hands if wrists need relief.
Child's Pose
Duration: 0:30
Melt into child's pose to reset your breath and relax the back with a calming stretch.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Start on hands and knees, then widen your knees while keeping big toes touching.
- Sit your hips back toward your heels and reach your hands forward.
- Lower your chest between your thighs and rest your forehead on the floor or a support.
Tips
- Crawl your fingertips forward to deepen the stretch through the sides of your body.
- Let your chest sink toward the ground with each exhale.
Adjustments
- Keep knees closer together if that feels better for your hips.
- Rest your forehead on a block, pillow, or folded blanket if it does not reach the floor.
Knees-to-Chest
Duration: 0:30
Hug your knees to your chest to release the lower back and gently stretch the hips.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Lie on your back with legs extended and arms by your sides.
- Bend both knees and draw them toward your chest.
- Wrap your arms around your shins and hug the knees in, breathing deeply.
Tips
- Let your head and neck relax on the floor.
- Keep your lower back gently pressing into the mat.
Adjustments
- Hold behind your thighs instead of the shins if that feels better for your body.
Seated Fold
Duration: 0:30
Reach forward from a tall seat to stretch your hamstrings and back with a calming fold.
Difficulty: Beginner
Instructions
- Sit with legs extended and reach your arms overhead to lengthen your spine.
- Hinge at the hips and fold forward, reaching for your toes, shins, or ankles.
- Hold the stretch while breathing slowly, keeping your spine long.
Tips
- Focus on hinging from the hips instead of rounding your back.
Adjustments
- Use a strap around your feet or keep hands on your shins if your toes feel far away.
- Keep a slight bend in the knees if your hamstrings are tight.
Plow
Duration: 0:30
Roll into plow pose to stretch your spine and hamstrings while giving your nervous system a calming reset.
Difficulty: Advanced
Instructions
- Lie on your back with legs extended and arms by your sides.
- Engage your core to lift your legs overhead, supporting your lower back with your hands.
- Lower your feet toward the floor behind your head and, if they touch, extend your arms along the mat with palms down.
Tips
- Keep legs straight and toes reaching toward the floor.
- Relax your neck and avoid turning your head while in the pose.
Adjustments
- Hold your hips with your hands if your feet do not reach the floor.
- Bend your knees slightly if straight legs feel too intense.
Standing Taller
Roll out of plow slowly and stand, noticing how much taller and lighter you feel. That sensation is the result of spinal decompression and muscular release.
Practice this flow daily for lasting posture improvement. Consistent lengthening work reverses the accumulated compression from sitting and creates permanent changes in how you carry yourself.
To understand the complete approach to fixing posture through both stretching and strengthening, read this comprehensive guide to fixing bad posture.
