Primal said:
Based on Yoga, does the mere act of improving our posture for day-to-day living, even in just a little way, improves our mental/cognitive faculties?
Absolutely. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will pitch in but speaking from experience I found that having a mobile/flexilble spine and neck to be very helpful in improving my mood and overall feeling of well-being.
In a physical sense, this releases tension in many areas of the body. The brain (which the spine connects to) is the central point in which the nerves connect to other parts of the body, which branch-out from the spinal column. Having any problems in the spine can result in a loss of function of other parts of the body, such as limbs and various organs. It's well established that the vagus nerve connects the brain to the stomach, hence people with problems therein may also have digestive problems. This results in poorer cognition because nutrients aren't utilized properly and hormones aren't fully released which help create a rest/digest state (namely acetycholine and serotonin). This has to do with poorer communication between the two areas. New research has found many parallels between the gut-brain axis (GBA) and autism, shining light on why gut dysbiosis or IBS is so prevelant in autistic people, suggesting a strong cause-and-effect relationship between gut health and autism. Vaccines are not so good and have been widely pointed to for causing autism. The polio vaccine for instance resulted in so many bowel obstructions in kids that they pulled it. To think this latest vile comirnaty injection (a trial-based gene therapy; likely 'gene editing') that they call a "vaccine" (changed definition in the USA during 2021), which has at least a 20-fold greater instance of adverse events (not including death) still gets promoted. It's horrific to say the least.
When you have a problem in one area it always ends in a negative feedback loop. This frequently ends in complications that stem from the root problem.
These hormones have to do with mood/sleep and parastalsis (the movement of smooth muscles in the intestines), among several other things.
Problems here vary depending on the degree in which someone has upper-back/neck problems, which I'd suggest are the most common type.
In a spiritual sense, our chakras are a part of the spinal column. In my experience they are located directly on the front-part of the spine. For others it's directly in the middle of the spine. (I haven't found a concrete answer yet however).
My advice here is focusing on what visualization feels right and learn from there. Intuition (right-brain) is far more important than logical (left-brain) analysis when it comes to spiritual development.
Having a healthy spine is an essential part of having proper energy flow between the male and female aspects of the soul. It creates balance in one's soul/aura and this is one reason yoga is so much focused on here as a very beneficial (almost essential) thing to spiritual advancement.
Posture in everyday life helps greatly in terms of incremental and long-term benefit. It's not something where you'd have great results immediately but rather it helps improve things in small ways and is moreover a preumptive measure to avoid problems later in life.
Thus it goes without saying (like our grandparents/parents taught us); always lift with your legs, don't slouch and keep your head straight. People today are hunched over for long periods; be it when using their phone, sitting in a bus or at desk/table, etc. It's for this reason that being mindful of these things is of great importance.
Some people who work sitting on their ass all day with some intelligence/common sense work on this and might do things like use a balance-ball chair and such. I personally got a backrest pillow because I have a desktop computer in front of my bed. Things like that help for sure.
Sorry to sound like a grouchy old man BTW! :lol: I'm a bit of an old soul... Also, sorry for the ramble. ^_^