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How Is Your Posture?

Where do you tend to hold your stress? If you’re like most people, you’re probably thinking your neck, shoulders, and upper back. With all the sitting we do on a daily basis- we’re bringing our bodies into a posture that the bones and muscles weren’t made to hold for such long periods of time. But because the body is an amazing machine- it has learned how to compromise its original structure (proper posture), in order to support us in our daily routines and activities. This can be related to driving a vehicle when the tires haven’t been aligned and balanced. The vehicle can drive like this for a while, but eventually something is going to breakdown. Same goes for the body, and we usually experience the first signs of “breakdown” as tightness and/or pain. Research has found, for example, that letting your head jut forward is associated with neck, back, and even jaw pain. The relationship of one body part to another is the essence of posture. When you stand or sit with your joints, muscles, and ligaments in proper alignment, you reduce the strain on your body, and in turn, keep yourself out of pain.So how can you begin to realign your posture? The answer is a combination of stretching and strengthening. The shoulders and chest need to be stretched while the muscles of the back need to be strengthened. Basically what needs to happen is a re-education of the back muscles on how to hold its original structure. Ever notice how you might try to bring yourself into correct posture with your shoulders squeezed down and back and your chest lifted, only to find that two minutes later- you’ve lost it? The problem is that these muscles need the endurance to hold everything in place throughout the day, but because you haven’t used them in so long- they’ve forgotten how to do this! They just need a consistent reminder- so taking a few minutes each day to practice some postural exercises allows your mind to touch base with these postural muscles- so that eventually they’ll learn how to properly engage and hold proper posture. The following exercises can begin to help you access the muscles required to hold good posture:1.Chest stretch: Perform this to begin to open the front muscles of the body.
Stand in a doorway with your elbows at a ninety degree angle. As you exhale, press your chest forward until you feel a stretch in the chest and shoulders. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat.2.Standing practice: Perform this one to reinforce what proper posture feels like.
Stand with your back against a wall. Feet should be shoulder-width apart, 3 to 6 inches from the wall. Arms should be by your sides. Press your head, shoulders, and back against the wall. Draw in your lower abdomen, pulling your belly button toward your spine to take the arch out of your back. Keeping your back as straight as possible, use your elbows to push away from the wall.

3.Neck stretch: Strengthens and stretches the neck muscles.
Stand in a normal, relaxed position, shoulders relaxed and arms by your side. Keeping shoulders still, pretend that a string is pulling you straight up from the top of your head. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Relax.
Start with one set of 10 and gradually work up to two to three sets.

4.Shoulder strengthener: Strengthens the muscles around the shoulder blades.
Stand erect, feet shoulder- width apart. Place your arms in a “W” position- palms facing forward- shoulders relaxed. Bring elbows back as far as you can, pinching the shoulder blades together. Hold for a count of 3. Release.
Start with one set of 10 and gradually work up to two to three sets
By finding the muscles that assist with good posture, you’ll begin to tap into your core strength. The core strength is what keeps your spine stable from your head all the way down to your tailbone. The vitality of the spine is what keeps us limber. The body was born to move not sit in one place for 7+hours a day! When we stop moving, muscles begin to “seize up” resulting in tightness and pain. So finding the posture muscles of the upper body is only part of the picture of how our bodies maintain alignment and correct posture. Core strength, balance, and flexibility also play into this picture. Stacey Stone is a Master Level Personal Trainer at Biltmore Fitness in Asheville, NC. (www.biltfit.com)

  

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 9:06 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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