Your Posture Says a Lot about Personality...
Your posture says a lot about your personality. It also says a lot
about how your joints and muscles are working. Here's everything you need to
know about assessing your postural deviations and how to fix them!
Imagine a strong, powerful, confident person standing in front of
you. What kind of posture does that person have? Undoubtedly, the person in
front of you is standing tall with an open chest and a head held high. It's a
person who looks ready to take on the world.
Living with bad posture can be a dangerous thing. The muscle and
ligament imbalances that result from poor alignment can lead to all sorts of
problems:
·
Chronic back, neck, and
shoulder pain
·
Foot, knee, hip, and back
injuries
·
Headaches
·
Stiffness
·
Fatigue
·
Muscle atrophy and weakness
·
Difficulty breathing
·
Digestion issues
·
Impingement and nerve
compression
1. Think string.
Always imagine that a string coming from the top
of your head is pulling you gently up towards the ceiling. Visualization
techniques like this one can guide your sense of proper position and height
effectively.
2. Avoid the slouch when
walking.
Be sure to try to walk as if you had
a book balancing on your head.
3. Sit up straight!
How often
did your mother tell you that? For many people, this suggestion got filed right
next to "eat your peas," or "your eyes will stick that
way." Mom was right, though–—at least about your posture. Now, especially,
when so many of us sit at a desk all day, it's important to follow these basic
guidelines, both for your posture and for your health.
·
If you work long hours at a
desk and have the option, use a chair that's ergonomically designed for proper
support and designed for your height and weight. If this is not an option, try
using a small pillow for lumbar support.
·
Align your back with the
back of the office chair. This will help you avoid slouching or leaning
forward, which you may find yourself doing after sitting too long at your desk.
·
If you work on computers at
an office, position the monitor on an angle a bit more upwards than you would
if you were in more of a slouching position. This will force you to sit upright
to see the screen better.
·
As with standing posture,
keep your shoulders straight and squared, your head is upright, and your neck,
back, and heels are all aligned.
·
Keep both feet on the ground
or footrest (if your legs don't reach all the way to the ground).
·
Adjust your chair and your
position so that your arms are flexed, not straight out. Aim for roughly a 75-
to 90-degree angle at the elbows. If they are too straight, you're too far
back, and if they are more than 90 degrees, you're either sitting too close, or
you're slouching.
4.
Exercise
Try this exercise: Every morning and night, lie down on the floor
and make slow "snow angels" with your arms for two or three minutes. For an extra challenge, roll up a towel and put it on the floor underneath your spine. Many gyms have half foam rollers—a tube cut in half lengthwise—that you can use for even more of a stretch.
But do these stretches slowly and stop if you feel anything worse than mild discomfort or pain, says Dr. Bean. "You want to work up to that, you want to make sure that you first get the flexibility."
5. Say om
Start practicing yoga gradually and listen to how your body responds, he points out. Make sure your yoga teacher is sensitive to your needs and abilities, and available for feedback. Hatha or restorative yoga are good places to start if you're a beginner.
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