Simply pay attention to what people are doing in the trains on their commute; chances are most of them would be using their phone. Pay notice to the posture of the neck, where the head is mostly leaning forward and looking down, your shoulders rounds and your back hunched. This prolonged posture, more commonly known as “text neck” will eventually result in shoulder pain and hyperkyphosis.
Although inevitably this is the consequence of our modern lives living with more digital gadgets like our smartphones and laptops; the problem is just likely to exacerbate given the constant growth in mobile user population globally.
Let’s take a look at the muscles strained by a continuous posture described above.
- Abnormal curvature of spine caused by text neck: hyperextension of upper cervical spine, hyperflexion of lower cervical spine
- Elongated and weakened muscles: erector spinae, cervical flexors, shoulder blade retractors
- Shortened and tightened muscles: levator scapulae, pectoralis muscles
If so, what are some of the asana that we should practice to mediate this situation?
- Matsyasana or Fish Pose
- Ustrasana or Camel Pose
- Downward-Facing Dog Pose or Adho Mukha Svanasana
- Ardha Pincha Mayurasana or Dolphin pose
- Bhujangasana or Cobra pose
My personal favourite is Matsyasana/ Fish Pose as it’s a direct counterpose to the posture of text neck!
Remember to keep practicing these poses everyday to counter your text neck!
