We all know about how human evolution happened. Looking at these pictures makes us think how our spinal cords have straightened during evolution.

Look at the way the neck is bending to look at our handheld devices.

Keeping our back straight is one thing that every human being can do consciously to get rid of their past karma (really, now our back and past karma are not two words I though I would use in a single sentence). Those who have attended yoga classes, spiritual sessions, healing sessions, accupressure or ayurveda sessions will have noticed that this is the first thing that is recommended.

Having used multiple devices myself, I got curious and decided to attend some of the above sessions and see the difference. Will share more about the experiences in some of these in other posts, but in short after a year, realized that keeping the back straight does not come easily after a point. One needs to be extremely conscious to do that in the initial days.

First step is to fix our hunch at the neck.. that was the tough one..! Sharing tips on tuning ourselves out of the habit to ensure neck remains straight

1. Adjust the distance between eyes and palms while using handheld devices
2. Get used to lifting your arms higher to maintain your posture so that the neck does not have to bend more
3. Improve your arm strength by lifting weights (if needed). Holding a small object for a long time also requires arm strength
4. Watching TV with a straight back – dining chairs somehow work better than the living room couches for back posture
5. Going for a brisk walk regularly. “Brisk” is the key. We tend to hunch when we walk at leisure. Our neck tends to remain straight when we walk briskly moving our hands.
6. Tell someone around you that you are conscious about keeping your back straight and have them remind you when you hunch
7. Re-evaluate your pillow height and position and change it to make it comfortable for you.
8. Hard bed definitely helps a great deal to improve back posture. Maybe it is time for one.

Try at least some of these for 10 days and you will feel the difference. If you do find it painful to consciously keep your neck straight, it would help to consult with your physician about it.

While this one activity led me to a many more experiences, it was key that I sustained it. Will share the other aspects I learned in the upcoming posts.