I know I talk about posture a lot, but there’s a good reason. Our posture impacts our lives in so many ways! It affects the functioning of our nervous system, how our joints will wear, how energetic and alert we feel, and even our self esteem! Good posture makes the most of what you’ve got.
The spinal cord connects the brain with each cell of the body and is attached to the vertebra at the base of the neck and the lower part of the spine. These areas are exquisitely sensitive to tension or any change of position so that any distortion or prolonged altered posture at these points will affect tension throughout the spine and back. It is like a marionette puppet. If you stretch the spinal cord then you also will stretch all of the tissues and cells linked to those nerves due to the change of position.
When we have poor postural habits, our joints will receive extra stress upon them and suffer wear and tear that leads to degeneration. Think of a car with the wheels out of alignment. The tires will wear down unevenly because parts of the tire receive extra stress. One is more likely to get a flat tire from those worn down areas! We are more likely to suffer joint problems when our postural habits place extra stress on certain joints.
Our posture affects how others perceive us, and how we feel about ourselves. Bad posture accentuates all that one might not like about them self. The belly is highlighted as it protrudes more than necessary. Rounded shoulders minimize the appearance of strength in the chest and arm muscles. We are never our best selves when our posture is poor.
Gravity and the activities of daily life are constantly working to worsen our posture. Text neck has become a regular diagnosis in my practice. Here is the thing, if you are not actively working on your posture, then your posture is deteriorating! Take time to do some daily exercises to maintain and improve your posture. Join us at our next Optimal Health workshop to learn a great exercise for this, or join us for the “Posture Boot Camp” at our Celebrating Wellness Day. We will be teaching and going through multiple exercises to improve your posture. Perform these exercises over a 21 day period and you can change patterns and be ready for summer!