The things that we do most commonly day to day, are the building blocks as to how our body and mind function. Sometimes it is easy to forget how seemingly small habits can impact us greatly when their effect is magnified over our whole lifetime. Have a read through these three things and ask yourself if you could improve in any of these areas.

Do you spend all day having bad posture?

I’m sure you know how important good posture is. Yet the truth is while most of us do realise the importance of good posture, it is very easy to let our focus on posture slide. Here are some good tips to help maintain a good posture whether you are stood up, sat down, or lying down.

When you are standing up make sure you are standing up straight and tall, keep your shoulders both down and back, and focus on keeping your pelvis (your hips) in line with your spine. Avoid having a big arch in your back. Imagine you are trying to keep your head vertically stacked on top of your shoulders.

When you are sitting, repeat the same position where you are sitting straight and tall and keep your shoulders both down and back. Keep you mid back touching the back rest and if there is one, keep your head touching the head rest. You can put a small pillow in the small of your back to help support the arch.

Do you sit down most of the day?

We often get very engaged and focused with what we are doing, which often means we get suck in one position for a long time.

Movement is what nourishes the joints and muscles. To avoid excess tension and to keep the joints healthy, try taking a few minutes’ break every hour, to get up and move around. This could be as simple as walking around or standing up when you are on the phone, or walking down the stairs and back up, once in every hour!

Are you addicted to your phone?

Social media and technologies are so addicting because of how easily accessible they are. Having our phones, tablets and laptops within reach makes it easy to not be present in what we are doing.

To break the patterns we have of reaching for our phones or tablets purely out of habit, we need to change how we use them: 

Make It Harder For Yourself – keep your phone in the kitchen while you watch a movie or charge your phone in the office when you go to bed in the evening

Take Intentional Tech-Free Periods And Activities – go on a walk and leave your phone at home or plan to have dinner and keep your phone off the dining table

Start Your Day Without Technology – get up, get ready and eat breakfast before you pick up your phone.  It is so easy to get sucked into the world of emails and Instagram before you step out of bed

Heal > Adapt > Evolve