Posture is the position in which you hold your body against gravity whilst you are sitting, standing, exercising, and laying down. Good posture involves training your body to be able to perform daily life activities, walking, running, bending, stretching, sitting with the least amount of strain and stress placed on supporting structures like ligaments and muscles.
Ideal posture or alignment creates optimal musculoskeletal function. Daily modern life tends to include a lot of sitting whether that is at your desk, watching TV or driving the car, this is not good for our posture and can lead to postural faults which cause stress and strain on our bodies leading to pain. Read more here
10 tips for good posture
- No one is able to sit with perfect posture all of the time; it takes a lot of strength to do so. When you feel your muscles tiring, or yourself slowly slouching, get up and move around.
- Check in with your body. Awareness is essential to good posture. We get busy working at our computers or watching a good movie, and we compress into poor posture. Post a note on your computer screen to remind you to get yourself in proper alignment.
- To keep your energy levels high, remember it’s okay to relax from time to time. Give your postural muscles a break once in a while. They can get overworked and cause pain as well.
- Ensure your ears are above your shoulders and that you’re using your front neck muscles — not just your posterior muscles — to hold your head up.
- When sitting, “make use of the lumbar roll in your chair or create one with a rolled towel to support your natural lumbar curve. Helping your body stay in neutral isn’t cheating it will make it more sustainable throughout the day.
- Investigate your pelvic tilts rock your pelvis back and forward then stop in the middle this is your neutral pelvis where you should sit on your sit bones not your tail bone.
- If you slouch, it’s difficult for your diaphragm to fully contract and the lungs to fully expand. To breathe better, lengthen your seated position and open your lungs, breathe through your nose not your mouth and make your exhale longer.
- Stand tall, make space in your waist and neck, draw your shoulder blades down thumbs facing forward. Engage your core muscles, keep a tiny knee bend so you’re not hyperextending or locking your knee joints.
- Daily life includes a lot of forward motion, bending to pick up after the kids, driving, walking, typing all leads to a more forward posture. Focus on proper alignment and work the posterior chain to counter balance this forward, rounded posture.
- Stand in front of a mirror with your normal posture. Look at yourself from all angles. Then, straighten your posture and notice the difference in how you look and feel.
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