Five steps to a better posture
here are tips on how you can aim for a better posture.
Maintaining good posture not only elevates your confidence but is also an essential component of orthopaedic care. If you don’t stand up straight, no amount of exercise or gym time will give you the sizzling bod you aim for. Over the time, poor posture takes a toll on your spine, shoulders, hips and knees, and adds unnecessary weight to your frame, making you appear heavier than you are. As compiled from the Women’s Health magazine, Health magazine, realsimple.com and NBC News, here are tips on how you can aim for a better posture.
Open up
“It’s very important for us to be able to stretch and open up and improve our range of motion,” said Dr Jonathan F Bean, an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. To stay supple and agile, try to get up for a couple minutes every half hour and stretch, walk or stand. Always keep your ears in line with your shoulders when talking on the phone. If you’re leaning too far forward or backward, your posture is off-balance. Use this trick whenever you’re sitting at your desk.
Stand upright
A bunch of people keep their hands in their pockets while standing, which makes their shoulders slouch. The proper way to maintain a good posture is to keep the hands by the side of the body. Keep some distance between your feet, so that they are aligned with your shoulders. To get an idea of how you are doing, stand against a wall. For most people, everything except the head would touch the wall. This is how your posture should be while you stand and walk. Try and employ the habit of standing with your shoulders upright, which would help the head line up with the spinal cord.
Sit straight
When you have to work at a desk “sitting up with good, tall posture and shoulders dropped is a good habit to get into,” according to Dr Rebecca Seguin, an exercise physiologist and nutritionist. This can take some getting used to. Exercise disciplines, such as yoga, can help you to sit straight, Seguin suggested. While using the computer, keep your eye level with the top of monitor, and elbows and wrists at a 90-degree angle. The correct way to sit in a chair is placing your feet flat on the ground. This means, no crossing your legs or sticking them out in front of you.
Go barefoot
Research published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that going barefoot increases the surface charge of red blood cells in feet, resulting in great posture benefits. When you begin going barefoot, you start to stand tall. High heels and thick-soled shoes are not advisable for good posture. Most people stand with weight over their heels, which causes feet to become weak and, in turn, increases stress on your ankles, knees and hips resulting in a slouchy back and a tummy pooch. Try to spend most of your time not wearing shoes because it builds the muscles in your feet, which are the foundation for your posture and quality of movement.
Support your spine
As we age, we tend to have more weakening in the muscles around the spine, shared Dr Bean, an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard. Lifting weights under the supervision of a fitness trainer at the gym can help eliminate the ‘dowager’s hump’ in the upper back, which is a hallmark of old age. Also, never bend forward from your back when, say, brushing teeth or lifting things off the floor. The muscles around your hips are the largest and most powerful in your body, so always hinge (push back) from the hips when bending forward. This will keep your weight towards your heels, which will activate the muscles that protect the natural ‘S’ curve of your spine from turning into a ‘C’ curve that ruins your posture.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2014.
Open up
“It’s very important for us to be able to stretch and open up and improve our range of motion,” said Dr Jonathan F Bean, an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. To stay supple and agile, try to get up for a couple minutes every half hour and stretch, walk or stand. Always keep your ears in line with your shoulders when talking on the phone. If you’re leaning too far forward or backward, your posture is off-balance. Use this trick whenever you’re sitting at your desk.
Stand upright
A bunch of people keep their hands in their pockets while standing, which makes their shoulders slouch. The proper way to maintain a good posture is to keep the hands by the side of the body. Keep some distance between your feet, so that they are aligned with your shoulders. To get an idea of how you are doing, stand against a wall. For most people, everything except the head would touch the wall. This is how your posture should be while you stand and walk. Try and employ the habit of standing with your shoulders upright, which would help the head line up with the spinal cord.
Sit straight
When you have to work at a desk “sitting up with good, tall posture and shoulders dropped is a good habit to get into,” according to Dr Rebecca Seguin, an exercise physiologist and nutritionist. This can take some getting used to. Exercise disciplines, such as yoga, can help you to sit straight, Seguin suggested. While using the computer, keep your eye level with the top of monitor, and elbows and wrists at a 90-degree angle. The correct way to sit in a chair is placing your feet flat on the ground. This means, no crossing your legs or sticking them out in front of you.
Go barefoot
Research published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that going barefoot increases the surface charge of red blood cells in feet, resulting in great posture benefits. When you begin going barefoot, you start to stand tall. High heels and thick-soled shoes are not advisable for good posture. Most people stand with weight over their heels, which causes feet to become weak and, in turn, increases stress on your ankles, knees and hips resulting in a slouchy back and a tummy pooch. Try to spend most of your time not wearing shoes because it builds the muscles in your feet, which are the foundation for your posture and quality of movement.
Support your spine
As we age, we tend to have more weakening in the muscles around the spine, shared Dr Bean, an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard. Lifting weights under the supervision of a fitness trainer at the gym can help eliminate the ‘dowager’s hump’ in the upper back, which is a hallmark of old age. Also, never bend forward from your back when, say, brushing teeth or lifting things off the floor. The muscles around your hips are the largest and most powerful in your body, so always hinge (push back) from the hips when bending forward. This will keep your weight towards your heels, which will activate the muscles that protect the natural ‘S’ curve of your spine from turning into a ‘C’ curve that ruins your posture.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2014.