Become a Tall Supermodel with the Help of Yoga Exercises.

 Last year, I suffered what seemed like a minor injury to my knee.  I was standing on the driver's side of my car ( facing the interior, on an inclined driveway) when suddenly the door shut, hitting me on the back of the knee.  The force from the impact caused me to also hit the front of my knee.  I experienced some mild bruising and discomfort but thought I'd be fine in like a week.

The low-grade discomfort persisted which started to affect my walking. Soon I was experiencing discomfort on my right hip ( I was putting additional strain on that leg to take weight off the left knee).  Eventually, I had enough and incorporated some exercises to help push the recovery process.  

The first idea that came to mind was yoga stretching because it was low impact.  My morning routine began with a quick search on YouTube for short videos under the search "hip stretch routine or morning yoga stretch".  I didn't realize it then, but those simple yoga videos could improve my body in ways I couldn't imagine. 

Within a few weeks of daily stretching, the knee pain was gone and the stiffness in my right hip was a distant memory.  Although the main purpose for reintroducing yoga in my life was to aid in my recovery, it wasn't long before I also experienced benefits to my back and spine.  I had no issues with back pain but every time I entered the downward dog pose, I made a mental note of how stiff my spine seemed.  I kept telling myself "this is so good for my back." 

Little did I know how powerful the practice of yoga is for our backs.  Yoga has such an impact on our spine that some people have reported actually becoming taller through consistent practice.

Years ago, I learned how to do a yoga headstand.  While following along with training videos, the instructors would often talk about how inverting the body (via headstands) releases our back from the constant pressure of gravity.  Over the years, our back compresses which contributes to eventual shrinkage.  

I'm already a short person.  One of my greatest fears in life is age-related shrinking that'll shorten me even more. According to the internet, women lose as much as 2 inches between the ages of 30-70.  As someone who's already built close to the ground, I can't afford to lose any more precious inches.   The bulk of my day is spent hunched over a computer or sitting with my head pointed downwards at my phone.  I have no doubt that my worst fear will manifest unless I do something to stop it.  

After a few weeks of doing morning yoga for my hip and knee, the pain/discomfort went again and I stopped doing the exercises altogether.  I lost all motivation to continue my newfound yoga routine until now.  

A bunch of people responded to a Twitter thread about Yoga causing people to grow taller with their own personal experiences.

Being a short, petite]girl has some disadvantages.  Ordering pants online is always a gamble.  I can imagine the cost savings if I were just an inch or two taller and didn't have to pay for alterations. 

 Even if I don't gain inches in height from regular yoga, just the idea that I might slow down or even stop spine shrinkage is motivation enough.  At the very least, I can rid myself of the constant back stiffness that silently plagues me and finally improve my posture once and for all.