After you have stopped growing, yoga can still make you taller.
Alice is about to go in for her annual physical check up. She is wondering if the same thing is going to happen to her that happened to her friend Betty.
When Betty went in for her checkup she found out that she was almost an inch taller than she was last year. This was a big surprise especially since she had finished growing several decades ago. She had the nurse check several times to make sure that there was no mistake.
It turns out that Betty was indeed taller. She was relating this story before yoga class started one day and her yoga teacher explained that her increase in height was probably due to the yoga that she has been doing.
How much taller can you get
We are only talking about a small change in height. You are not going to gain a foot. Usually you will gain less than an inch if any thing at all.
How much height you gain is going depend on the shape your body is in now. if you have poor posture, you have lots of tension in your muscles and really short muscles then there is an opportunity to gain some height. If you are already fairly flexible and you have good posture then there will be little or no heighten gain.
You will only experience this height gain once. You should not expect to get taller each year that you do yoga. This is a one time gift from your yoga practice to you.
Why are you shorter
All lot of people when they start a yoga practice have a couple of factors that are contributing to their reduction in height:
- poor posture and
- tight muscles.
Poor posture
Over time you can develop some very poor posture practices. Rounding your back. Pulling your shoulders forward. Bring your head froward and down slightly. All of these movements will result in a reduction in height.
In addition to the poor posture you can also have tight muscles
Tight muscles
Tight hamstring muscles can result in an inability to straighten your legs completely. This slightly bent kneed stance will result in a shortening of your height.
Short muscles and poor posture can make you shorter but yoga can help to counteract these effects.
How does yoga make you taller
The physical practice of yoga will help you to straighten out your body and improve your posture. It will remove the tension from your muscles and allow you to straighten your back, bring your shoulders back and down your back and also lift your head up and bring it back over your shoulders.
Your body will thank you for restoring good posture. But this is only half of the battle. We still have some muscles to stretch out so you can straighten some more joints.
There are lots of poses that work on the lengthening of your hamstring muscles. Once you have sufficient lengthen in your hamstrings you will be able to straighten out your legs and bring your hips into a full upright position. These two movements will result in adding a little more height to your body.
How often do I need to do yoga to get taller
In order to straighten your body out with yoga you have to do more your yoga practice more than once a week.
You should be practicing yoga 2-3 times a week every week. Once you get to this frequency you will start to see many improvements to your body. You will notice that your posture is gradually improving. You will feel more comfortable sitting taller with an erect spine.
You will no longer like to sit or stand with your former hunched over stance. This stance will now feel uncomfortable and you will automatically and unconsciously straighten your torso and bring it into proper alignment.
How quickly will this happen
It does take a considerable amount of time. Everything with yoga is a gradual process. it will take a year or two of regular and frequent practice to straighten out your body.
Removing the roundness from your spine. Pulling your shoulders back and down. Bringing your head back over your shoulders instead of in front of them. Lengthening your hamstrings and straightening your legs and hips. All of these movements will take time to accomplish and you too will be a taller person.
Is this a permanent change
As long as you continue your yoga practice you will maintain good posture because your body will feel better. Your yoga practice will keep your muscles well stretched which will allow your legs and hips to be well aligned.
As long as you take care of your body you will retain this additional height.
Case Study
One of our members had been coming to yoga classes 4-5 times a week for about 18 months when she went for her annual physical checkup.
The nurse told her her height and she had grown 3/4 of an inch since her last checkup. She said that their was no way that she could be taller. She had been the same height for several decades. She insisted that the nurse measure her height again. They repeated the measurement two more times with the same results.
She had straightened out her body with her yoga practice and gotten taller as a result.
Summary
There are two factors that a yoga practice addresses that may result in you becoming a taller person.
- Your posture. Yoga will straighten out your torso and get your shoulders down you back and your head up over your shoulders.
- Lengthen your muscles. Yoga will lengthen your muscles and allow you to straighten your joints.
Alice found out from the nurse that she was the same height that she was last year. Alice already had good posture. She was already standing tall. She is unlikely to gain any height from her yoga practice.
Next steps
Try a regular and frequent yoga practice and you may get a surprise at your next annual physical exam.
