1. Discover the Importance of Correct Posture and How to Improve It
Who hasn't been repeatedly told as a child to stand or sit up straight? Yet, despite this constant reminder, many adults struggle with poor posture. While many desire to improve their posture, it can be challenging to remember to practice and be mindful of it in everyday life. Additionally, knowing what correct and healthy posture feels like is often a mystery. Walking, standing, and sitting are deeply ingrained habits. Anyone seeking to change their posture and enhance their health and well-being will require patience throughout the process.
Poor posture can lead to back and neck pain, breathing difficulties, digestive problems, and headaches. To alleviate these symptoms, it's crucial to understand the connection between posture and related issues.
2. What Does It Mean?
Posture refers to the alignment of our bodies relative to gravity, whether we are standing, sitting, or lying down. Gravity impacts both the active and passive structures in our bodies. Good posture evenly distributes these forces, preventing joint overloading. Our muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and fascia structures play a significant role in maintaining proper posture.
3. Causes of Poor Posture
Long periods of sitting, in particular, have negative consequences: shoulders hunch forward, the head bows, and the thoracic spine becomes unnaturally arched, resulting in poor posture. Unfortunately, there are numerous factors that can contribute to poor posture, including genetics, injury or illness. Other causes include a sedentary lifestyle, one-sided workplace stresses, lack of mobility and flexibility, muscular imbalances or tension, and adhesions in the fascial tissue.
4. Benefits of Good Posture
Improves Range of Motion: Your posture influences every movement you make. Maintaining an upright and stable posture reduces pressure on the joints and enhances your range of motion.
- Prevents Pain: Poor posture can cause tension throughout the body. Correct and healthy posture can prevent pain in the back, neck, shoulders, and hips, making you less susceptible to injuries.
- Enhances Air Inhalation: Adequate oxygen intake is crucial for optimal bodily and mental functioning. Good posture allows your lungs to work efficiently, enabling you to inhale more oxygen.
- Boosts Confidence: Posture also affects your psyche. By adopting an upright posture, you'll subconsciously feel more confident. Others will perceive you as more self-assured and competent.
5. How to achieving Good Posture
Correct Posture When Sitting at a Desk:
- Keep your spine in a neutral position, aligning your ears over your shoulders and your rib cage over your pelvis.
- If your shoulders tend to roll forward, consider using a posture trainer like the BLACKROLL® POSTURE to remind you to maintain a neutral shoulder position.
- Ensure that the upper edge of the screen is at eye level, keeping your head in a neutral position.
- Maintain approximately a right angle between your upper and lower legs, with your knees slightly lower than your hips. An adjustable office chair is helpful for adjusting based on your height.
Correct Posture When Standing:
The same principles apply while standing: keep your ears over your shoulders and your rib cage over your pelvis. The upper edge of the screen should still be at eye level.
- Engage your core muscles to support an upright posture.
- Avoid overextending the knee joints by keeping your knees slightly bent. Both feet should be flat on the ground.
- It's challenging to correct your posture while sitting down, as we tend to overcompensate. Therefore, standing up is often the best way to ensure proper posture.
6. Improving Posture with the 4-Point Plan
1. Engage your buttocks:
Stand with your feet aligned with your hips, pushing the soles of your feet into the ground and tensing your buttocks. This aligns your pelvis and supports your spinal alignment. Relax the tension slightly, maintaining about 20% of the maximum tension.
2. Regulate your breathing:
Take deep breaths into your diaphragm. Place one hand on your stomach and another on your chest to help. Inhale and exhale deeply six times, ensuring that your diaphragm rises and falls predominantly. On the final exhale, draw your chest down to align it with your pelvis. Maintain this position and continue to breathe steadily.
3. Engage your stomach:
Tighten your stomach muscles as much as possible without changing your posture or hunching. Reduce the tension, maintaining about 20% of the tension. This helps keep your pelvis and chest in the correct position.
4. Maintain an upright position for your head, neck, and shoulders:
When your gaze is forward, ensure that your head, shoulders, hips, and ankles form a straight line. Pull your head back slightly, creating a slight double chin, while aligning your shoulders in a stable position.
Implement the 4-Point Plan whenever you notice your posture weakening. It is recommended to practice these steps at least every half an hour. Additionally, you can improve your posture by incorporating exercises that target your postural muscles.
Need extra support? Consider using the BLACKROLL Posture Brace
