Improve Your Posture
"Sit up straight," "Stand up straight," and "Don't slouch" punctuated my youth.
At the time, I thought my parents and elders were boorishly obsessive, simply sadistic always telling me to "improve your posture.
"In more recent times, though, and through medical science, the verdict is in, and they were right.
Improper posture leads to a world of healthy problems, including crippling and debilitating disorders, from arthritis to scoliosis.
In earlier years, I thought spinal problems were the result of disease or malnutrition.
It was a real eye-opener to find out that bad posture can be caused by a number of factors.
Certainly obesity and pregnancy are going to make you stand poorly.
Some of the less obvious causes are high heeled shoes, overly weak or overly developed muscles, a poor work environment (pounding on hard surfaces or sitting in poorly designed furniture,) but here it is in black and white, folks Another primary cause of dangerous posture is poor sitting and standing habits.
So it turns out they were right to tell us not to slouch.
Where the head goes, the body will follow.
One consistent indicator of poor posture is a "Forward" head position.
For the best health, our heads should rest atop our spines, not crane forward.
Begin there, and the rest of the spine must begin to align itself proper beneath it.
But posture is a habit, and bad posture is a habit one must break.
Through time, our muscles and bones follow suit and soon we have quite a bit to overcome.
The sooner the better, of course.
Don't wait for improper posture to cost you your health or become a source of chronic, nagging pains.
Take steps now to correct the bad habits.
Good posture is essential to good health, but it affects us in other ways as well.
We present a more dashing figure, a more pleasing, desirable physique, and carry ourselves with greater bearing when we stand up straight.
People regard us as neat, tidy and successful, amongst those to associate with.
It seems we're inexplicably drawn to healthy postures as well.
How does one set out to improve one's posture?Start by reminding yourself; become mindful of our body position at all times.
Practice proper body mechanics until they become the norm, the habit.
Change your environment; get and use furniture of ergonomic design, furniture made to guide your body towards proper posture.
The proper standing position has your head directly upright, so that your chin isn't jutting out.
Your shoulders are back, chest is out, knees are straight ahead, stomach is pulled it, and pelvis is neither slouched nor jutting forward.
Imagine yourself being lifted up by a string attached to the top-center of your head.
Don't stand in one position too long, as you'll grow tired and be encouraged to slouch.
Sitting is similar.
Chairs with some sort of lumbar support encourage all three normal curvatures of the spine.
With or without lumbar support though, be sure to sit on both hips evenly, with a slight "pocket" in your lower back, a slight curve going the opposite direction in the middle of your back, and a gentle recurve at the neck while your chin is tucked and you're being lifted by that thin, imaginary string at the top center of your head.
Shoulders back, chest out, stomach tucked..
..
you'll look fine and BE fine.
Take a little time and effort to give yourself proper posture, both for appearance and for health.
It's amongst those things our parents were right about after all.
© 2007 RightNow Communications
At the time, I thought my parents and elders were boorishly obsessive, simply sadistic always telling me to "improve your posture.
"In more recent times, though, and through medical science, the verdict is in, and they were right.
Improper posture leads to a world of healthy problems, including crippling and debilitating disorders, from arthritis to scoliosis.
In earlier years, I thought spinal problems were the result of disease or malnutrition.
It was a real eye-opener to find out that bad posture can be caused by a number of factors.
Certainly obesity and pregnancy are going to make you stand poorly.
Some of the less obvious causes are high heeled shoes, overly weak or overly developed muscles, a poor work environment (pounding on hard surfaces or sitting in poorly designed furniture,) but here it is in black and white, folks Another primary cause of dangerous posture is poor sitting and standing habits.
So it turns out they were right to tell us not to slouch.
Where the head goes, the body will follow.
One consistent indicator of poor posture is a "Forward" head position.
For the best health, our heads should rest atop our spines, not crane forward.
Begin there, and the rest of the spine must begin to align itself proper beneath it.
But posture is a habit, and bad posture is a habit one must break.
Through time, our muscles and bones follow suit and soon we have quite a bit to overcome.
The sooner the better, of course.
Don't wait for improper posture to cost you your health or become a source of chronic, nagging pains.
Take steps now to correct the bad habits.
Good posture is essential to good health, but it affects us in other ways as well.
We present a more dashing figure, a more pleasing, desirable physique, and carry ourselves with greater bearing when we stand up straight.
People regard us as neat, tidy and successful, amongst those to associate with.
It seems we're inexplicably drawn to healthy postures as well.
How does one set out to improve one's posture?Start by reminding yourself; become mindful of our body position at all times.
Practice proper body mechanics until they become the norm, the habit.
Change your environment; get and use furniture of ergonomic design, furniture made to guide your body towards proper posture.
The proper standing position has your head directly upright, so that your chin isn't jutting out.
Your shoulders are back, chest is out, knees are straight ahead, stomach is pulled it, and pelvis is neither slouched nor jutting forward.
Imagine yourself being lifted up by a string attached to the top-center of your head.
Don't stand in one position too long, as you'll grow tired and be encouraged to slouch.
Sitting is similar.
Chairs with some sort of lumbar support encourage all three normal curvatures of the spine.
With or without lumbar support though, be sure to sit on both hips evenly, with a slight "pocket" in your lower back, a slight curve going the opposite direction in the middle of your back, and a gentle recurve at the neck while your chin is tucked and you're being lifted by that thin, imaginary string at the top center of your head.
Shoulders back, chest out, stomach tucked..
..
you'll look fine and BE fine.
Take a little time and effort to give yourself proper posture, both for appearance and for health.
It's amongst those things our parents were right about after all.
© 2007 RightNow Communications
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