Introduction:
Height is a very important aspect of our physical appearance. We always want to look good and have a proportionate height. But we should not forget about our genetics. You cannot grow more than your genetics planned for. I mean, if your parents are 4 feet in height, it is very difficult to gain 6 feet of height at a later age of life. However, with some medications, exercises, and some activities, your height can be grown few more inches than your expected genetics.
Many youngsters ask me for medicines for growing height. I always welcome their questions and, first of all, look for genetics. Sometimes both the parents have above average height, but for some reason, the child remains short in height, and there could be several reasons like,
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Hormonal deficiencies.
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Lack of physical activities did not allow the bones to grow much.
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Excess of workout for legs which leads to a short height.
What Are the Tips to Increase Your Height in a Natural Way?
After considering every cause for short height, I have noted a few tips and exercises to grow your height without using any medications. Tips for growing your height in a natural way are,
1. Yoga:
Basically, just doing yoga does not help to increase your skeletal height after the age of 20 years; however different poses of yoga can increase your height by stretching your body muscles, and by reducing the compression of discs of your spine, build the muscle strength, keep your body posture straight and make you look few inches taller. Five minutes of each yoga pose would be beneficial to promote height growth. Following are the few yoga poses beneficial to grow your height.
a) Surya Namaskar - This yoga pose is also called a whole-body exercise. This pose should be practiced regularly, twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the evening during sunset. It is believed that this exercise stretches every part of your body muscle and makes your spine flexible.
b) Mountain Pose or Tadasana - This is one of the easy yoga exercises. It includes stretching of all body muscles from head to toe, making your spine stronger, which helps in elongating your body posture and thus increase the height. Stand erect on the floor with the feet apart and arms on the sides of the body. Then take a deep breath, stretch your arms upright in an overhead position and slightly raise your heels. Hold on to this position for 1 or 2 minutes and then come back to the original position slowly by slowly exhaling.
c) Sarvang Asana - This asana is also called a 'Head Stand'. This asana is very similar to Shirshasana, which involves the inversion of your body against gravity. This pose exerts pressure on the pituitary gland and helps to produce the required adequate amount of growth hormones. Lie flat on your back with palm facing downwards and lift both the legs, buttock and back and come up high to your shoulder with supporting your back with your hands. Keep your legs and spine straight. Remain in this position for 15 to 20 seconds and then slowly get back to the normal position.
d) Bhujangasana - This asana is also referred to as 'Cobra Pose'. This asana is known to increase the flexibility of joints and muscles. Lie down facing the floor, with hands firmly facing the ground. Take a deep breath and lift your upper body from the ground with a gentle stretch on your neck. Hold this position for 15 to 20 seconds, and then exhale gently.
2. Aerobics and Other Exercises:
Exercises are one of the ways to increase your height after the age of 18 years. Adequate exercises with a good amount of protein intake would promote your height to a greater extent. Exercises like,
a) Hanging - These are very easy exercises. With the support of your hands, you can hang your body to stretch out your muscles and elongate the posture. You can hang using the pull-up bar and remain hanging for 15 to 20 seconds. Repeat this three to five times a day.
b) Jumping - Jumping is another effective aerobic exercise as it makes your legs stronger. You can jump in different ways, especially skipping a rope, as it can help you reach the maximum height. Jumping can sometimes land you in an accident, so make sure you lift both legs at the same time and land at the same time.
c) Swimming - Like any other exercise, swimming will not directly increase your height. Swimming helps to decompress your spine and makes you appear taller. The most important benefit of swimming is the ability to stretch your legs, arms, and back, allowing your body to remain more flexible.
3. Food and Nutrition:
Many people just concentrate on exercises to increase their height; however, desired height can be achieved if exercise is implemented with correct food therapy. Without correct and nutritious food, you cannot increase your height. Proteins, calcium, vitamin D, Magnesium, and Phosphorus are some of the important nutrients required to keep your muscles and bones stronger and to maintain your height. List of some food essential to consume to grow your height are,
a) Milk and Yogurt - Milk is the most important component to enhance the growth of your body. Milk is high in proteins, Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. Sometimes fortified milk contains Vitamin D. All these nutrients are very important to grow your height. Build your muscles and gain weight, especially in children.
b) Eggs - Eggs are another food rich in essential nutrients for the growth of your height, especially in children. Eggs are highly rich in proteins and Vitamin D, along with other micronutrients. Such naturally obtained Vitamin D from eggs increase calcium absorption and maintain skeletal health. Hence a glass of milk and an egg is the best breakfast for kids and adults as well.
c) Almonds - Almonds are rich in many micronutrients, especially rich with Vitamin E. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant for our body and helps to develop good immunity. Lack of Vitamin E can affect our immune cells and also lead to stunted growth, especially in children. Few almonds every day with a glass of milk would definitely help to maintain and promote bone growth.
Conclusion:
Above mentioned food items are just a few to name. You will need to balance your food with healthy green vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, chicken, and fish. Such a balanced food promotes bone growth and is essential while you do the exercises.