5 Tips For Better Posture

Poor posture is oh so common.

Is your neck in knots? Does your low back feel achey?..

There are plenty of ways you can improve the way you sit and stand,

Posture effects the way you feel and how your body functions and different things work for different people.

Poor  posture can increase low back pain and tension contribute to headaches and TMJ and decrease digestion circulation and lung capacity 

Whether it’s making an assessment of your workstation or bed, or taking up a new sport or activity. The first thing to do is to identify the problem and the main causes of your bad posture. That way you can focus on making improvements.

Find the Source

There are a number of common causes of bad posture.

The most common culprit? Usually -sitting at a desk or a device. You probably already know that this is not healthy, and the sitting for extended periods is stressful for your back hips neck and heart. The best way to counteract this is take regular standing or movement breaks. Standing and doing a few minutes or arm circles, walking or jogging in place knee lifts every hour the best prevention and many smart watches remind you to do this.

Another source could be your bed or other furniture. Is your mattress sagging? Are you spending your WFH slouched on a couch? Or are you falling asleep on the couch instead of your comfy bed? If you’re not supported properly this could cause back or neck pain.

Exercise and staying active can also help with your posture. ANd underlying issues with injuries can attribute to postural deficiencies so check with a physical therapist if you think you are having injury related compensation issues

Make sure your workstation is ergonomic

Your desk, chair, monitor, and keyboard all need to be set up in a way that provides you with the most comfort and support.

Generally your shoulders should be relaxed and lower arms should be parallel to the floor and your feet should be flat to the floor with your knees lower than your hips. You may like having your thighs parallel to the floor and it is also recommended that your back is flat to the chair. You can also try sitting on an exercise ball- I do this often and love it and I also lay on my sit or lay on my mat now that we are WFH so often

You can follow this self-assessment checklist to find any areas for improvement.

Activities to improve your posture

Mind body exercise is incredibly beneficial to your posture.

It’s important to stay active so you might want to consider taking up a new type of exercise. There are several sports to improve body posture so check those out. However my go tos for Posture improvement are Pilates, Yoga, and Functional Range Conditioning . Mind and muscle body connection is truly one of the best ways to increase awareness of your spine and help retrain the movement patterns which will long term build good posture. Ensure you work out correctly, however, and you may need to see a trainer in person to nail these moves, especially if you are in pain. Working out in the wrong position could also have a negative effect. 

Devices to monitor your posture

Keep an eye on your posture with a posture corrector device.

This will help you to monitor your spinal position, mindful breathing,checks to see if you are taking breaks and uses bio feedback. It’s like having a pilates teacher correcting your form. s. Many people are used to slouching, and this can help you prevent it all day

Relieve stress and tension

Ever get so stressed you curl your shoulders up and your heart rate and blood pressure shoots up?

Try and find stress-relieving activities. Certain exercise can help as well, dance and meditation helps me so much. I meditate in the morning and sometimes at night. During the day, I turn up the music for a few minutes and dancer for a song or two for a break.

If you have sore muscles you could get a massage or invest in a massage gun to use on yourself.

If you aim to get rid of any tension in your body you’ll notice the difference in your posture. Take some time for yourself and enjoy relaxing activities to finally destress and improve your posture.

Photo Credit Dark Matter