Most people think having good posture is about the way they sit. While this helps, there is a more basic skill most of us have unlearnt that is at the heart of good posture.
Do you need to relearn this vital skill?
Having good posture is about many things. For example, your form when you sit and stand up and how you sit in your chair. For most of us though, it’s about relearning a basic life skill. Here are three things to remember about having a good posture.
1. If you are a chronic sloucher it does not mean you are lazy, lack confidence or depressed. It just looks that way.
Ok, that was a cheap shot. However, that’s what a body language expert would tell you. Mostly people blame sitting too long for their bad posture. Since giving up your sit down office job and becoming a lumberjack really isn’t an option, slouching seems inevitable and unavoidable.
For many people who battle with their posture, it is not about having good posture when they sit. Nor is it a lack of awareness or desire to change their sitting posture. So what’s going on?
2. Breathing correctly is the key to having a good posture.
The single most common reason people’s shoulders are rolled forward and their chin pokes out is because they are caught in a vicious cycle perpetuated by the way they breathe.
When you slouch, you are not breathing effectively with your diaphragm. Your body needs to get air in somehow. So it lifts your entire rib cage with your chest and front of neck muscles. These muscles quickly get overworked. They pull your shoulders and neck more forward and further decreasing your diaphragm’s effectiveness.
Stretching or rubbing won’t help these constantly overloaded muscles for long. Forcing yourself to mimic good posture is an omnipresent chore. The only way for good posture to feel natural is to breathe the way your body’s owner’s manual would tell you to.
3. Posture = Performance.
Did you ever see picture of a guy spinning on his head all hunched over while break dancing? Do you know why? Because all the guys who were all hunched over while trying to spin on their heads ended up with a disc injury in their neck before anyone got a photo.
Good posture is the position where your body can develop the most power, speed and agility while causing the least amount of damage to itself.
People instantly see how poor form and improper technique in the gym quickly leads to injury. Poor posture during everyday activities injures your body in the same way. Just much slower.
Ultimately, how long your skeleton lasts depends on your every day posture.
About the Author – Dr Mike Badke.
Active Muscle and Spine is a premier Chiropractic clinic in Sydney city on Pitt St, near Martin Place and opposite Angel Pl.
