Do Your Posture Exercises!

Stronger posture not only helps back and neck pain, but it also helps you feel better in general as you breathe deeper, reduce stress, and have more energy. People who regularly do StrongPosture^TM exercises report improvement with problems ranging from knee pain to headaches, and say they even feel, and sometimes look, taller and thinner.

Young or old, athlete or couch potato, maintaining StrongPosture^TM with daily StrongPosture^TM exercise is an intelligent LifeHabit for aging well. These posture- strengthening exercises are based on contemporary biomechanical concepts blended with ancient yoga practices and wisdom. The goal is to become conscious of your posture, and then strengthen your posture and balance with focused-motion StrongPosture^TM exercises. Exercises can be done anywhere, and do not require any expensive equipment. A flat wall is necessary as a reference for erect posture, and then we introduce inexpensive, low-tech tools like exercise balls.

To change your posture, you need to teach your body a new habit. "Straighten up and don't slouch" doesn't work. In order to change how you move, you need to first become conscious of how you are moving, and then adopt new LifeHabits to consciously train new patterns of motion and so retrain the body to move unconsciously in those new patterns of motion.

Strengthening your posture with daily posture exercises as part of your regular physical activity will help you keep moving well as you age.

Get Wise With Your Computer

When my students despair, “I just can’t seem to get comfortable sitting,” I remind them that the body is more at ease when in motion. Many jobs require people to sit for prolonged periods with little diversity in the tasks they perform. Add stress to the equation and you have a probable cause of sciatica, back and neck pain, and repetitive strain injury.

Sitting with rounded shoulders and slumped posture, tucking the phone under the neck while typing, or working for hours without taking breaks spells trouble. Despite helpful ergonomic tools, many are in pain because they fail to use correctly the primary tool -- their bodies. The Alexander Technique can help.

Helpful Hints:

Be aware of your postural habits at the computer. Notice whether your pelvis is tucked under as if you are sitting on your tailbone, or if your back is overarched. Shift your pelvis to the back of the chair and sit up on the bony points at the base of your pelvis. Notice if your head is protruding forward to view the screen. Loosen your neck muscles and allow the head to balance atop a long spine. Check your shoulders to be sure they are not shrugged up to your ears. Rest your arms in your lap and let the fingers lead the hands to the keyboard.

Take periodic breaks to walk around, stretch, or lie on the floor. Gravity is continually exerting a force on the spine causing compression of the intervertebral disks. Short periods of lying down with the knees bent will rehydrate the disks and keep the back strong; it is also an opportunity to break the stress cycle.

About the Author

Elizabeth Buonomo is a member of the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT). AmSAT-certified teachers are highly trained professionals who have completed a 1600-hour training program over a period of at least three years. AmSAT establishes and maintains the nation’s highest standards for teacher training, certification, and membership.

From birth to death, life is a series of cycles, and posture is an omnipresent but usually unrecognized factor in many cycles, but one that we can affect.

Posture shapes how your body moves, and your body’s patterns of motion shape your posture in cycles both vicious and virtuous. And our sitting society, where we spend hours and hours just sitting essentially still at work AND play—

• watching TV
• driving a car
• computing--typing and clicking oblivious to our posture
• and then relaxing—it all promotes poor posture and lack of motion.

Daily StrongPosture™ exercise creates an awareness of posture, and once you can feel the difference between StrongPosture and WrongPosture, simple changes in your habits can make a big difference in how you look!

With age, the joints stiffen and muscles get tight. The common bent over posture of old age occurs as a result of the body adapting to long-term poor posture. As posture becomes more bent forward the muscles have to work harder to keep the body balanced, which makes the muscles progressively tighter. Choosing a daily PostureExercise is an anti-aging LifeHabit to keep your body moving. Age is a state of mind... as well as body.

The StrongPosture™ ball and balance posture exercises move the spine and other joints in seldom used patterns, stretching tight muscles and ligaments. When a joint is kept moving fully and freely the muscles controlling that joint stay strong, the joint stays lubricated, and the normal mechanical stress in the joint is distributed over a greater surface area. Plus, these exercise focus on your balance, so the body's balance muscles are worked and strengthened.