Sugar Blossom

How to Improve Your Posture

“Stand up straight! You look like a saxophone! You’re going to get a hunch back!”
How many times have you heard these kinds of admonitions from parents and teachers when you were a child? At least once a day, I’m sure!

Their praiseworthy intention was to prevent us from developing a deformed spine or hunched shoulders. But bad posture can have other consequences which are just as harmful.

If you’ve developed the habit of bad posture, energy cannot cir¬culate properly to the various parts of your body, and the balance of your entire nervous system will suffer sooner or later.

Also, posture is one of the factors of non-verbal communication that you use when talking to other people. If you stand there rigidly looking like someone who’s just swallowed a broom, you’re going to put the other person on the defensive.

On the other hand, if you’re slouched down on a chair or a couch, you may offend the other person by transmitting a message of indif¬ference, and even disdain.

Standing position

This position is very simple. Imagine that the crown of your skull is suspended from the ceiling by an invisible string, which stretches down through your spine and hips. Another image that may help you: imagine that you’re balancing a ball on the top of your head.

Also check the position of your legs - they should be straight with¬out being stiff.

When standing, your weight should be equally supported by both legs. Your feet are flat on the ground. Relax your shoulders and arms. Imagine yourself anchored to the ground. If someone came along and pushed you accidentally, you should be able to maintain your bal¬ance.
Avoid positions that block energy circulation: shoulders raised, fists clenched, arms crossed, head bowed, leaning on one leg, etc.

Try checking your posture the next time you’re waiting for the bus, or standing in line at the movies. If you’re standing correctly, the wait will seem a lot shorter.

Sitting position

This is where the shoe pinches most, since we spend most of our time sitting down.
How should we sit?

To start, the chair shouldn’t bee too high or too low -thighs and shins should form a right angle, with the feet flat on the floor.

If the chair has armrests, place your elbows on them, with your fingers resting on the end. If you want to change position, rest your arms lightly on your thighs.

And now for the back, your poor tortured, mistreated, unhappy back…
Your back should also be straight, forming a 90_ angle with your thighs. To keep your back straight, you should be seated right up against the back of the chair, and not just perched on the front edge, as you surely often do… This is of capital importance! If you get tired, shift your hips forward a little and change the position of your spine for awhile.

If you do perch on the edge of the chair, you’re transmitting a message that you’re tense or anxious, uncomfortable or intimidated. And this is in complete contradiction to the relaxed, confident image that you want to project, isn’t it!

What makes a good chair?

Having a good chair is just as important as having a good mat¬tress. If you work sitting down, equip yourself with a quality chair, adapted to your back and to the kind of work you do and the tools you use. If you spend your days writing by hand, you wouldn’t want the same chair as someone who works on a computer, or who does graphics.

There are very well designed, hi-tech chairs on the market, called “ergonomic” (a new discipline which studies the interface between man and machines) which offer excellent support for the body. Un-fortunately, most of them cost a small fortune.

If you work for a large company, suggest that they look into equip¬ping the office with ergonomic furniture the next time they update their equipment. The investment might be worthwhile in terms of increased productivity. If you work for yourself, and can’t afford the expense, try to pick one up second hand.

Posture exercise

Before starting the exercise itself, you’ll have to find someone to help you. Give them a large felt pen or crayon (one that’s easy to erase).

1. Like most people, you probably own a full length mirror. If not (if you’ve refused to allow one in your house because you can’t stand looking at yourself!) now’s the time to get one. From now on you’ll enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror!
2. Get down on all fours in front of the mirror. Your thighs form a right angle with your trunk on one side, and your arms form a right angle with your trunk on the other.
3. Ask your assistant to draw a straight horizontal line on the mirror a little above the line formed by your back (about 4 to 6 inches for example).
4. Once a day, get back into the position described in above and stay that way for at least one minute. The line of your back should be perfectly parallel to the line drawn on the mirror. If it isn’t, adjust it slowly, without making any sudden movements.
5. After staying in this position for a few seconds, you’ll tend to curve or arch your back. Whenever this happens, rectify the position immediately.

If you do the exercise regularly, in just a few weeks you’ll notice that your muscle pains have been eased significantly, your back is less curved, and you can stand up straight a lot easier.

Exercise for relaxing the shoulders

This exercise is especially recommended for women, who have a tendency to hunch their shoulders to avoid overly exposing their breasts. But many men also have tightly hunched shoulders, and will also benefit from the exercise, which is so simple a child can do it.

1. Remove your shoes and stand with your back against a wall, arms relaxed by your side. Your heels should also be touching the wall.
2. Open your shoulders so that they too are touching the wall. Your chest will expand somewhat as you feel your shoulder blades touching the wall.
3. Count to thirty, then relax your shoulder muscles.
4. Count to ten, then resume the position. Repeat the exercise at least ten times.

The way you walk

If you’re a woman, you may have found yourself staring envi¬ously at those creatures who populate airports, offices and of course fashion salons, who seem to walk with an ethereal grace, their bodies in perfect harmony, their movements fluid and seemingly effortless, transmitting a message of total serenity.

If you’re a man, you must, on occasion, have admired the way some young guy, walking beside you or across the road, seemed to exude a sense of relaxation and confidence, while you felt constricted and clumsy in comparison.

The way we walk says a lot about who we are. It can be hurried or dragging, jumpy or smooth, heavy or light, clumsy or confident, and so on. So the message sent by your gait must be taken seriously!

Exercise: The ideal walk

The ideal walk is relaxed but not sloppy, neither too slow nor too fast. You use your whole body, not just your feet. Your whole leg should move, right up to the hip (unlike Charlie Chaplin and his famous shuffle!). Your shoulders should follow the movements of your hips.

Your arms should swing effortlessly by your side - just let them hang and move naturally.

1. Face your new friend (your own image in the full length mir¬ror, of course!). Start by lifting one leg, feeling all the muscles you put into action. Place that foot on the floor and lift the other leg. Take your time and study your movements.
2. Feel all the movements of your body which come into play when you walk: arms, head, hips. Each time you lift a foot, move your entire leg - you should feel your hip moving.
3. Practice walking in front of the mirror for at least five minutes a day.

Note:
Just like your posture can suffer from the type of chair you use to work on (especially if it’s of inferior quality) so your walk can be¬come deformed if you don’t wear the right kind of shoes. Short women especially tend to wear extremely high heels, which makes their walk heavy and graceless, hurts their feet and heels, not to mention their spines. Two or three inch heels which aren’t too pointy provide the most elegant walk, and are much less harmful to the spinal column, which undergoes enough stress without the added burden of stiletto heels!

As soon as your shoes start to wear out, get them repaired. Heels and soles in good condition are essential for keeping your back healthy and your walk fluid and elegant.