Good Posture: What Is It And How Do I Get It?

Good posture, we are always being told, is good for your health, great for your image and will prevent many aches, pains and sporting injuries. But what is it? How do you define it? And how do you get it?Posture has long been considered important, even our language recognises its desirability. We may refer to someone who is trustworthy as being upright or a pillar of the community, whereas spineless tells us the opposite.


So What Is A good posture?
Let's get one thing clear. Good posture is NOT about standing or sitting up straight. This is just tightening your back and leg muscles and forcing yourself into a rigid position.

The ideal sitting posture (in the center) puts far less strain on the neck, shoulders and back. The 'forced' and 'slouched' postures require more muscular effort than poised sitting. The subject in the photo will not be able to breathe well in both the slouched and forced posture because she will restrict the movement of her ribcage. The poised sitting posture allows for good breathing because the spine is passing the weight of her head into the chair and enabling her ribs to move freely. She will not have to try and breathe properly - because she will already be doing so!To learn how to sit poised you will need to stop doing the things that prevent you from sitting poised. You may be surprised that some of these include conventional advice on sitting properly.
tightening the lower back in order to sit straight
dropping the head forward and collapsing the back
throwing the shoulders back
crossing your legs
tucking your legs under the chair
To sit poised, be aware of the following:-
the location of where your head sits on the spine your neck does not support the weight of your head - the chair does
the movement of your ribs
if your ribs are not moving sideways, you are not poised
think of releasing up the front of your body
let the chair push you upwards
These thoughts will bring about a subtle change in your body's muscles as they respond to how you think about your position and gravity. A good body shape is attained by NOT trying. A simple truth is that we don't know what good posture feels like - if we did we would already have it!

POSTED BY:

ASHWANI SUHALKA PGDM 2nd Yr