How to improve your posture
AS children, there was absolutely nothing more nagging than your teachers scolding you about slouching over your desk, or your mother constantly reminding you to sit up straight while at the dinner or homework table.
And while at the time you could see no merit in these demands, Gisel Harrow, fitness instructor and personal trainer at Express Fitness, Liguanea, argues that adults warned you against slouching because of its contribution to postural deviations.
“It’s great to have good posture, as it gives you a sense of boldness and confidence. But some habits that we have such as slouching around, sleeping on our stomachs and twisting and turning our necks so that we can see different things on our smartphones, are all habits that could cause poor posture,” Harrow said.
She cautioned that over time, poor posture could affect our spine, shoulders, hips and knees. These could further develop into chronic pains and illnesses such as reduced flexibility, compromised muscles, a reduction in the body’s ability to burn fat and build strength, as well as the usual back, shoulder and neck pains.
Harrow said that these uncomfortable and sometimes very painful consequences of postural deviations can be reduced significantly with exercise, in addition to abandoning habits that could cause poor posture. Below she shares various techniques:
Work on strengthening muscles
Harrow said that to correct your posture you first have to find the cause, which is usually a muscle imbalance in most cases. “Muscle imbalance occurs when the stronger muscle pulls at the weaker muscle covering a joint area. So in order to improve your posture, you’ll have to strengthen the weaker muscles and stretch the stronger, more dominant muscles,” Harrow advised. Performing these over a period of time will correct both imbalance and posture.
Sit up straight
No matter how weird it feels at first, get in the habit of sitting and standing straight.
Try yoga
Yoga is one of those meditational exercises that encourage sitting up. And poor posture can sometimes be made worse by stress, something that yoga is recommended to help with. Therefore you stand to benefit twice.
Do exercises focusing on muscles around your spine
Exercises targeting the back extensors, neck flexors, pelvic muscles and side muscles are crucial. Many older people complain about back pain because these muscles tend to get weaker as we age, so it is important to work hard to fix these.
Do simple exercises
Do a little walking, jogging, climbing the stairs and lifting when you can. You don’t even have to go to the gym. Use the things in your immediate environment such as furniture. These simple practices are said to help with vertebral compression fractures that subtract from our height — a condition that is closely associated with the bone condition osteoporosis.
Do a little exercise on the job
Some jobs require that you sit for extended periods. Take short breaks in between to stand, stretch your shoulders, arms and feet. Take a little walk around the office as well. Use the stairs sometimes instead of the elevator. This will help to improve circulation.
