If you feel regular muscular tension, discomfort or pain in the neck or lower back, you risk developing long-term spinal issues that form into bad posture. There are three curves in the spine: neck, upper mid-thoracic and lower back that must be preserved to provide "shock absorption" to the spine, reducing or eliminating pain.
Improve posture by being aware of your ergonomic patterns throughout the day. Also practice simple yoga poses that can be done at home and variations of them as stretches at your desk sitting in your chair. Even five to 10 minutes a day makes a difference in keeping your spine tall and reducing pain.
Practice Good Postural Habits
The neck and lower back are the most flexible areas of the spine, and these curves can become exaggerated, creating a burden on the muscles around them, resulting in pain. Practice good ergonomic habits sitting, standing, lifting heavy objects and climbing stairs to reduce discomfort. Sit with your feet flat and the lower abs slightly drawn in: Use a chair that has a cushion pressing against the upper mid-back to help you maintain the neck and lower back curves--for support. Stand with your chest tall and shoulders back and collar bones wide. Use the same stance walking stairs. Lift heavy objects with bent knees, holding the object with both hands, using the muscles of your legs and abs, not lower back, to stand.
Stretching Improves Posture
At work sitting in front of a computer, it is easy to lose track of time until you feel a stiffness creep into the neck and upper shoulders. Preempt this by doing shoulder rolls back several times a day: This open up the area between the shoulder blades and stretch the large muscles of trapezius and latissimus that form an isosceles triangle. That triangle of muscle tighten as we lean forward toward paperwork or a computer. Doing neck rolls by rotating the head in one direction and then the other three times has the same effect. Also, keeping the chest tall, gently drop the chin toward the throat to stretch the long muscles of the neck at the back, the levator scapulae, to reduce tension.
Bridge Pose
Practicing Setu Bhandasana Sarvangasana, or Bridge Pose, preserves all three spinal curves in a class back bending yoga pose. Lie on a yoga mat or thick towel, setting with your feet flat, hips-width distance apart, knees stacked over the ankles. Press into the feet and lift the hips off the floor and interlace your hands underneath your back. Extend the tailbone away from the neck and soften the front ribs into the body. Remain for several breaths before lowering the hips down to rest. At the office, do a variation: Sitting with the hips on the front edge of the chair, grasp the sides of the chair, lifting the sternum up and shoulder blades down. The upper back will have a similar back bending shape. This is an energizing back bend and might replace your afternoon coffee break.
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