Posture – Why is it important
Our posture effects everything we do and everything we do affects our posture.
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.
So what is poor posture?
Poor posture happens when your bones are not aligned properly leading to strain in ligaments muscles and joints as they try and compensate for the misalignment. According to the AAOS (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) it can result in a ‘faulty relationship of various parts of the body which produces increased strain on the supporting structures and in which there is less efficient balance of the body over its base of support.’
Why do we need good posture?
Good posture will help you in all aspects of your life, having a balanced body takes time and effort so read my posture tips to help you improve your posture and take up Pilates! Every move you make in Pilates is grounded in improving your posture by building good core strength.
Good posture is important to balance by standing up straight, you centre your weight over your feet. This also helps you maintain correct form while exercising, which results in fewer injuries and greater gains.
Learning to stand and sit evenly can help with joint wear and tear, over time your joints naturally wear down. If you sit unevenly with one leg crossed over the other or stand with more force through one foot and your hip hitched, this is going to lead to bigger issues so next time your queuing in Tesco think about standing in neutral.
Sitting tall has other gains not just for your muscles and joints but also your lungs and digestive system, by sitting tall you increase your lungs ability to inflate giving you optimal deeper breathing and lung capacity. This also gives your organs space and helps with circulation.
Posture Check Up:
Sitting
Your feet should rest flat on the floor, with even weight on both hips. Your back should be mostly straight (you will have natural curves in your lumbar, thoracic, and cervical areas of the spine). Your shoulders should be back but relaxed and your ears should line up over your collarbones.
Standing
Your legs should have a slight knee bend so you’re not hyperextending or locking out your knee joints, your tail bone should be pointing down with no forward or backward tilt of the pelvis, your thumbs should face forward, your eyeline should be forward scanning the horizon.
Try this short workout and improve your posture.
Learn how Pilates can improve your posture and physical strength get in touch
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