Posture Check - Sukhasana - Comfortable seated pose

S: Taking care of the spine when seated with good postural alignment
M: Client will self report in 1 week
A: Client will practice good postural alignment when seated at work
R: Taking care of our spine will reduce back pain
T: 1 week. Will ask client to practice daily.

Male, 52 years old, high stress career. Constantly in high stress meetings, bi monthly work travel, stress of supporting family, has 2 children in college to pay for and 2 elderly parents to worry about. He has gout, gained weight in the last 2 years, sleep apnea, chronic back pain and some ringing in the ears.

My client has chronic back pain and high stress. His job requires him to be seated for long periods of time. In the Adaptive yoga manual it starts with The Posture and seated posture check. My client knows how to sit in sukhasana in yoga class, but I wondered if he was paying attention to his seated posture at work. Having correct seated posture, paying special attending to maintaining the natural curvature of the spine is essential for sitting comfortably and reliving his back pain and stress.

5 Koshas: Annamaya Kosha - the physical body. Pranamaya Kosha - vital body. Manomaya Kosha - emotional body
8 Limbs of Yoga: Ashtanga Yoga: Asana - physical movement. Pranayama - yogic breathing
Integral Yoga: Integral Yoga Hatha class - we begin with seated posture, working from the gross to the subtle.
Stress Management

My client was able to demonstrate how to sit in alignment on the chair. He expressed that taking a few moments to breathe and mindfully find his proper seated posture allowed him to reset (release stress, come back to his own) throughout his day.

I asked my client to establish a firm base with his feet on the floor, sitting forward in his chair so his back is not resting against the seat back, knees over ankles, thighs parallel to the floor, sitz bones pressed down. Taking some deep breaths, as he inhaled elongate his supine upwards and as he exhaled allow gravity to root his pelvis towards the seat of the chair. Paying special attention to maintaining his natural spinal curves so the head and torso are balanced over the pelvis. As he continued to breathe, roll his shoulders back and down and he'll feel his sternum lift. Allow his hands to rest comfortably, try to relax his neck (doing some neck rolls or stretches) and taking a few moments to feel his seated posture and breath. I suggested he do this as many times as he remembered though out his day and notice if his back felt better and help lower some stress.

Yes, my intended plan and goal was achieved. My client was able to correct his seated posture several times during the day. He said he didn't realize how much he was hunched over, had his shoulders rounded, neck jutted forward when he was sitting. He said "Of course my back and neck hurt." My goal was for him to bring awareness to his posture to reduce his back pain, stress and tension. Although he said he didn't notice a huge difference in his back pain after a week it has helped him become more aware of his posture and correct his "tech neck".

I didn't have to adapt my plan but what I learned is I need to pay attention to my seated posture as well. I noticed, by having the correct seated posture, taking a few mindful breaths, feeling my body sitting will make me feel more alert, relive my own back and neck tension and allow my breath to be more fluid.

I would approach it in the same way and wouldn't change anything in my approach. I showed him proper seated alignment that didn't take a lot of time or effort. My goal was for my client to have good postural seated alignment so he can sit comfortably, relief to his back pain, reduce tension and take some deep mindful breaths though out his day.