Good posture is more than just sitting up tall and not slouching.  Making sure you look after how your body position is when you are standing, sitting, walking, or moving, can prevent pain and injuries. We all know how important it is to have good posture, how do you make sure you have good posture?

Standing Up

Even while reading this, do you feel hunched over? Are you bent forward over your phone or laptop? Whether you are sitting or standing, remind yourself to stand up taller. Imagine a balloon with a piece of string tied to your head and feel it lifting you up to the ceiling. Try and create a long line from your pelvis up to the top of your head. When you are standing up, notice where the weight of your body is. With both feet on the floor, try shifting most of your weight on to one foot and then the other. After this, balance to find the centre point between the two feet and have a think about if this is how you usually stand.

Sitting Down

As much as posture changes, and the problems and pain they cause, are becoming more mainstream, so is stress. Stress can adversely affect our posture, and vice-versa, so much so that when people are stressed their shoulders become raised and rounded. This can impact our neck and shoulders hugely! So, throughout the day bring attention to relaxing and dropping your shoulders and bringing your chest forward. A good practise is then to take a few big, deep, slow breaths to help calm your body and mind.

The habit of staring at our phone, screen or the TV can cause the bad habit to form of our necks being ‘pushed’ forward. When we look at an ideal posture, the ears need to be in line with the shoulders. This means we need to pay attention to when we are settling into a habit of slouching. Throughout the day, focus on tucking your chin in more towards your chest to help maintain an upright posture.

Heal > Adapt > Evolve