Improve Your Posture!

Good posture is becoming a less common thing on these days. Many people lead sedentary way of life caused by the modern facilities. Ask yourself how many people do you see with perfect posture? When you do see someone with good posture don't they look taller, thinner, and younger than they might be? Wouldn't you like to have good posture too?

Good posture not only helps your body function at its best, but you breathe better, move more efficiently, have more endurance, and just look better.

The feeling of tension and pain in our shoulders and upper back is often due to incorrect posture either while sitting or standing.

The first step in correcting and alleviating bad habits is learning the causes of bad posture and how it affects the tension in other areas of the body. Next, you'll need to know how to correct bad posture to be able to move more confidently and with less pain and strain on the body.

Have you ever heard some of these facts about posture?

· Keeping proper posture can help prevent many aches and pains including chronic back pain.

· If you wear high heels regularly, it can lead to bad posture and back pain.

· Being overweight can cause bad posture by pulling on the back and weakening abdominal muscles.

· Regular stretching can help to improve your posture.

· If you have to stand for long periods of time keep your abdominal muscles drawn in and hands at your side to improve posture and ward off back pain.

· When you lift things with proper posture it helps to reduce injury risk. Keep the object close to you with your chest lifted, back straight, abdominal muscles drawn in, and then use the strength in your legs to lift the object not your back.

· Good posture goes hand in hand with better balance.

· If you do exercise that strengthens the core of the body, such as Pilates, it can help improve your posture.

Some short tips on how to improve your posture:

1. Strengthen your abdominal muscles through Pilates- or yoga-based exercises. Having strong abdominal muscles supports your spine and allows you to stand up taller and with less pain.

Pilates exercises are well-known to realign the spine by correcting the length-tension imbalances in the muscles supporting the spine, pelvis, and shoulders. Thus, it assists the whole body in working more efficiently and with a stable, solid core.

As for yoga, this is a thousand-year proof method to keep your posture and health at its best, everywhere, anytime.

2. Stretch the tight muscles, such as your hamstrings, which pull on the back muscles that cause pain resulting in a slouched posture.

3. Regularly check your posture in the mirror: Are your ears centered over your shoulders, chin parallel to the floor, shoulders over your hips, chest lifted, and abdominal muscles drawn in with a slight curve in the lower back.

4. When sitting pull your bottom right up against the back of the chair. Then stack the rest of the spine straight up so that your shoulders are right over the hips, ears over the shoulders, and your chin parallel to the floor.

5. Work on exercises that strengthen the upper and middle back muscles. Lateral rowing exercises and some of the Pilates-based mat exercises including the elbow lift lying on your stomach are just a couple to start with.