Stand Tall

One of the questions I get asked most often by clients is how to improve posture. Many of us are troubled by back pains, and on top of that, we're reminded just how bad our posture is when we come across a picture of us showing the unflattering truth. Our Grammie's voice pops into our head saying "Stop slouching. Straighten up your back."

Grammie has a point. If you think about it, imagine how much better we view our selves and others who stand tall and walk proud. Not only does good posture relieve back pain, it make us appear thinner, more confident, adds some height, and helps improve how our bodies function. Look at this diagram of how posture affects your entire body.

Below are some practices, exercises, and stretches that you can add to your daily routine to help bolster your back.

How often do you catch yourself slouching at your desk? Set a calendar reminder once every couple of hours reminding you to sit up straight. Below are a couple of stretches that you can do at your desk.

• Place your feet flat on the floor, knees in line with ankles, straighten your back, roll your shoulders back and lift your chest. Rotate your chin to your right shoulder, hold for a couple of seconds, bring it back to center, then rotate to the left and hold for a couple of seconds. Return to center and do two shoulder rolls forward and two backward. Repeat the sequence three times.
• Stretch your upper back by clasping your hands together in front of you, then push them out away from you, so that your palms are facing out. Drop your chin and round your upper back, feeling the stretch in between your shoulder blades. Repeat three times.
  

At home, while you're watching TV do the following:

• Wall Sit -- Sit on the floor with your head and shoulders touching the wall, legs extended straight in front of you, toes pointing up. Place your hands on your upper thighs, palms up, with your elbows at your sides. Gently pull your toes back toward your torso (pushing knees down toward the floor), squeeze your shoulder blades back (pretending you're squeezing a pencil in between them), and lift your chin up (head tall). Hold for 3-5 seconds. Do 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.
  
• Alternating arm/leg lift -- Starting position: on hands and knees, back straight (your shoulders, elbows and wrists should be in alignment with each other) and your knees in line with your hips. Lift right arm out in front of you while simultaneously lifting left leg straight out behind you. (Pretend as though someone is pulling you from each your finger tips and toes --lengthen your body). Switch sides (lift right leg and left arm) to complete one rep. Do 8-12 reps.
• Elevated Legs -- Sit down facing your couch. Bring your legs up on top of the sofa cushions, and lie flat on your back (press your lower spine into the floor), with your arms at your sides. Keep your legs at a 90 angle, so that it's almost like your shins could be used as a table. Hold this pose for a couple of minutes and focus on your breathing. Send your breaths to your lower back.
• Body hug -- from the elevated leg position, slowly lower both of your knees into your chest. Wrap your arms around your legs as though you're giving your body a giant hug. Breathe into the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds, lessen the strength of your hug, and then squeeze again, holding for 30 seconds.
  

Take home tips: keep your shoulders back and down; and take some pressure off your back -- get up and move!!!