Improve your posture, minimize muscle tension, and build strength naturally with these essential tips for good posture.
When you know better, you do better...
We often do things without even realizing that they could be causing us more harm than good, and body positioning or poor posture is one that can easily be overlooked. Poor body positioning can have a negative impact on our overall human structure, breathing pattern and sometimes our internal organs. So, in this guide, I will provide you with the six most important tips to address your body positioning so you can improve posture, avoid unnecessary muscle tension and strengthen naturally.
I would like to be clear that I prefer to call posture body positioning as the technical word posture seem to be misinterpreted.
Read this blog for more Information on what posture really means...
Man, vs environment.
In today's world, technology has made us more prone to sitting and slouching for extended periods, which can have a negative impact on our natural stabilizers and body movements.
Resting body position affects all levels and ages!
No matter who you are, whether you're an athlete, a senior, an office worker, or a teenager, a well held and balanced body is essential! Posture involves the ability to hold your body upright, which requires awareness and the activation of natural muscle stabilizers. When we lose these stabilizers, our bodies can become tense and compressed, leading to both internal and external imbalanced tension and the lack of awareness turns into adaptation to a body positioning that may not be serving you.
This blog will cover the body positionings that effect your posture the most, along with correction tips to help you avoid unwanted aches and tension caused by poor positioning...
By the end of this blog, you will be able to correct your body positioning, improve the way you hold your posture, and better understand why it is important.
Let's quickly dive into these tips that are sure to help impact your body in a positive way!
Poor posture compression not only affects our brain function and muscular skeletal system but also the respiratory and digestive system and the reason behind this is once again because of the collapsing of the upper body which is the slouched forward position that compresses our organs and lung capacity.
Let's move on to... A more productive sitting posture.
Your muscles will be firing, and it will feel like a workout sitting in good posture, it will take some time for you to adjust to this as your body works on strengthening these crucial postural stabilizers. Consider setting a reminder on your phone to check in on your posture consistently throughout the day or place a visible note at your desk to remind yourself to adjust your sitting position.
Avoid the crossing of your legs...
AVOID THIS AT ALL COST. Crossing your legs for long periods of time can cause misalignment to your hips and spine along putting strain on your knees, especially if you favor one side this cause trunk and lower body asymmetry.
The Effects of Cross-Legged Sitting on the Trunk and Pelvic Angles and Gluteal Pressure in People with and without Low Back Pain - PMC (nih.gov)
(PDF) Cross-legged sitting posture effect on lumbar proprioception in young adults: a cross-sectional study (researchgate.net)
Get up, walk around, & move your body.
It's not recommended to sit for prolonged periods of time without taking breaks to move your body. Sitting for hours can lead to joint and spinal compression, along with reduced lower body circulation. Even if you sit in the best posture, your body still needs to move every two hours. So put a reminder on your phone to take short breaks, at least 5-10 minutes, to move around.
You know your guilty of this...
When people mention to me about their mystery headaches, migraines, and neck pains, I always advise them to pay attention to how they hold their phone. Even if someone does not sit for long hours for work, they may still experience neck pain due to excessive phone and tablet usage in bad posture. It is a common problem among people of all ages and professions, and the solution is simple - bring your phone up to eye level!
Upper body posture...
When it comes to posture, the position of your shoulders is critical. If your hands are hanging forward, it can cause rounded shoulders, pain, tightness, and discomfort, also known as rotator cuff impingement. In the pictures above, you can see poor posture, with the head, belly, and hands all pushed forward. To improve the overall appearance and health of your upper body, you simply need to address these points and correct your shoulder position.
External rotation of the feet...
Another major critical point to consider is the posture of your feet. Just as the alignment of your car affects its movement, the position of your feet affects the movement of your lower body. If you constantly point your feet or one-foot outwards, the alignment of your body will shift to one side, resulting in incorrect driving. This misalignment can cause issues in your foot, knee, and lower back. It is beyond important to realign your feet straight to drive the legs and hips straight. Addressing this issue is important as we use our lower body for general movement.
Full body tune up...
Which body type are you?
All in all, it's a full-body effort that requires constant mental and physical repetition. Try your best! Practicing good posture during your daily activities can help you naturally strengthen and stabilize your muscles without having to go to the gym. This can help you avoid many aches and pains and enjoy a more functional and free-moving body.
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