Perfect Posture 20 Ways to STAND TALL

PERFECT POSTURE 20 Ways to Stand Tall Posture is body language, a pose that tells the rest of the world how you feel—about others, about your life, about yourself. "Posture is personality," says Suki Jay Rappaport, Ph.D., a movement educator and director of the Transformations Institute in Corte Madera, California. "And it's no coincidence we use the word 'posture' interchangeably with the word 'attitude.' " So what does your posture say? Are you slouching, facedown on the world? Do you walk with a resigned, round-shouldered look on life? Is your back so straight that people think you are unbending? Or do you strut, head up, back straight, like a peacock—adventurous, outgoing, ready to meet all challenges? Maybe your posture isn't an intentional stance, but simply the result of a bad habit. Even so, it can give people the wrong message. "Try to slouch and tell someone you are excited about something," says Dr. Rappaport. "You can't do it. You have to straighten up to be excited. Good posture makes full breathing, full inspiration, possible." Good posture is practical for other reasons, too. It's the perfect way to prevent backaches. Your backbone—the 33 bony segments called vertebrae—is your body's foundation. The vertebral column is what enables you to stand upright. It surrounds and protects your spinal cord, and it is where muscles and ligaments attach to your back. It works as a weight bearer, yet allows flexibility in movement, so you don't walk stiffly, like a zombie. Muscles are the key to good posture. Back muscles in proper working order support the spine from the rear. Stomach muscles help to support the spine from the front. Ever wonder why your neck and shoulders hurt at the end of the workday? Chances are you spent most of your day hunched over your desk with the muscles at the base of your neck fighting to keep your body upright. Poor posture wears against the discs—the shock absorbers—in your spine. Poor posture strains and loosens ligaments. And it pushes and pulls unevenly on all your muscles. A lifetime of slouching can cause chronic fatigue, headaches, and sometimes body disfigurement. Don't let it happen to you. Here's how to make your posture perfect. Start each day in balance. Begin each day by putting your skeleton in alignment, says Dr. Rappaport. These are basic stretches she teaches in movement classes to help people find proper balance, she says. Follow this routine. Full extension of the spine: Stand with your knees bent slightly. Clasp your hands in front. As you breathe in, stretch your hands up, palms toward the ceiling, lifting your shoulders off your rib cage. Breathe out as you bring your shoulders down, setting your shoulders squarely onto your body. Let your rib cage settle on the inside of your spine, shoulders relaxed, as you lower your arms slowly. Side flexion: Stand and lean to the right to touch your ear to your shoulder. Follow that through, bending as best you can toward your hip. Stand again and repeat this in the other direction. Repeat full extension of the spine exercise. Rotation of spine: Turn your head slowly to look over your right shoulder. Turn as far back as possible. Turn your head back to the center. Turn your head slowly to look over your left shoulder. Turn back to the center. Repeat full extension of the spine exercise. Forward flexion of the spine: Stand and curl your back forward, dropping your head and arms toward the floor, curving and elongating your spine. Repeat full extension of the spine exercise. Hyperextension of the spine: Sit or stand, place your hands on your hips, and lean backward very gently. Your pelvis should be tucked under. Finish with full extension of the spine exercise. Look in the mirror. Relax and practice standing up straight. A stiff military posture isn't what you are looking for, says Michael Spezzano, a fitness specialist and national director of the YMCA Healthy Back Program. That's too rigid, and the small of your back would be too arched. Stand in front of a full-length mirror to check your posture. Distribute your weight evenly on both feet and keep your shoulders back and level. Hold your chest high. Your stomach will pull in naturally as you tilt your lower pelvis slightly back. Notice that your buttocks will tuck under and the small of your back will have a very slight arch. You'll know you are on track when you can draw an imaginary straight line from just behind your ear, through your shoulder, behind the hip and knee, and through the ankle. Release tension. Because a round-shouldered hunch tips your head slightly forward, it tightens your shoulder and neck muscles. Release that tension with shoulder rolls and head circles, suggests Dr. Rappaport. Start with your shoulders level and square. Roll them forward 10 to 15 times, as if you were trying to paddle a boat with your shoulders. Then roll them back. Next, hold your head high and rotate it clockwise. Repeat six to eight times, then circle in the other direction. Test your curve. A perfect back is a curved back. Test your curve by standing with your back and buttocks against a wall. You should be able to slide your hand between your waist and the wall, says Spezzano. If you can't get your hand in there or it feels tight, you are standing too straight and have the problem called flat back. Too much curve—if you can put more than a hand behind your back—and you have a condition called lordosis. Tilt your pelvis. You can adjust and strengthen the curve in your back with an easy exercise known as the pelvic tilt. There are three ways to do this exercise. You can do one or all three. Lie on your back with your knees at a 45-degree angle, feet flat on the floor. Place your hand in the small of your back. Then, flatten your back against your hand by contracting your abdominal muscles and pushing your hips downward. Do this exercise a few times twice a day. Sit with your thighs parallel to the floor. Place one hand on your lower back, the other in front of your abdomen just above the pubic bones. Breathe in. Then, as you breathe out, pull in your abdominal muscles, roll your lower back down so your hips roll backward and your pubic bone lifts up toward the ceiling. Breathe out. Repeat occasionally during the day if you spend a lot of time sitting. While you are testing the curve in your back as described earlier, place one foot on a chair seat in front of you. Your pelvis will naturally tilt up and your back will straighten and be closer to the wall than it was when both feet were on the ground. Slouch no more. When your shoulders hunch forward, breathing is cut off, and this can make you drowsy and uninspired, says Dr. Rappaport. Here's how to correct that slouch: Stand with your arms loosely at your sides. Clasp your hands behind you, dropping them onto your buttocks. Tilt your palms under for support. Lift your shoulders toward your ears and then down, bringing your elbows toward each other. This will pinch your shoulder blades together. You will be stretching your muscles across your chest and contracting those in your back. Do this several times and repeat frequently during the day. Keep one leg up. If you stand for long periods of time, place a box on the floor in front of you and put one foot on it, says Dr. Rappaport. This position will release back tension. Sit with your knees level. Adjust your desk chair to make sitting straight easier. Here's how: Adjust the height of your chair so your thighs are parallel to the floor and your knees are level or slightly higher than your hips. If they aren't, your body pulls forward and your back slumps as your muscles work overtime to keep your back upright, says Spezzano. Grab a pillow. Promote good posture by sitting in a chair molded so that your back is forced into a healthy arch. Or, if that kind of chair isn't available, put a cushion in the small of your back, between you and the chair. Stay on the level. Advice on sitting works in a car, too, says Spezzano. Pull your seat forward, toward the pedals, until your knees are bent and slightly higher than your hips and your thighs are parallel to the floor. Use a small cushion behind the small of your back or use the seat adjustment available in some cars to support the curve in your back. Uncross your legs. Crossed legs throw your body out of alignment. Barbers and hairstylists have known it for years, which is why a good one will tell you to uncross your legs before they cut your hair—they don't want their work to come out lopsided. Keep your feet flat on the floor, says Spezzano. Make like Dan Rather. Want to be sure your posture is perfect for your next interview? Sit at the edge of your chair, says Jeff Puffer, television talent coach in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That's the advice he gives news anchors who want their backs to look straight while they are on camera. Sitting at the edge encourages you to balance instead of allowing you to relax round-shouldered into the back of the chair. Sit squarely. Sit up straight and wiggle around until you can feel the bones in your bottom against the chair. If you can feel the bones, you're on the way to sitting straight. When you can't feel those bones, you've probably rolled down in your seat and are slumping. Keep your distance. Don't be tempted to lean your arms and elbows on your desk or table. Sit 6 to 8 inches away from it when you aren't working—too far to succumb to round-shouldered posture, says Puffer. You should be far enough away so when you try to put your arms down, only your wrists are on the edge of the surface in front of you. If you slump in this position, you'll feel how out of balance your body really is. Keep this distance to perfect your posture if you work at a computer terminal or a typewriter most of the day. Put your right foot forward. Here's another trick television news announcers use to keep their backs straight while they talk and gesture to the audience. Try it. While sitting at the edge of your chair, curl one foot under the chair and stretch the other out in front for balance. Your back will stay straight. Get good sleep. Good posture throughout the night can do a lot to aid good posture throughout the day. Sleeping in the wrong position can cause backache, which can throw off your natural alignment, says Dr. Robert Bowden in his bookSelf-Help Osteopathy. Sleeping on your stomach is the worst thing you can do because it accentuates the curve in your back. Instead, he advises, sleep on your side with knees bent and a pillow fat enough to keep your head level with your shoulders. This level maintains the alignment of your neck with the rest of your body. Or, sleep on your back with a thin pillow under your head and a small pillow under your knees. Choose a mattress firm enough to keep you from sinking in to it when you lie down. Lying on your side, your hips and shoulders should sink just a little, allowing your spine to remain straight. Your mattress should be firm enough that you and your partner do not roll together in the middle. Keep in tone. Walk, run, swim, bicycle, do aerobics. Stretch your muscles daily. Posture is only as good as the muscles that keep you in line. Find some kind of regular physical activity, says Spezzano, to keep your muscles strong. Get maximum relief. At the end of the day or maybe during a break period, rest your back and improve your posture at the same time, says Dr. Rappaport. Lie on the floor with your legs on a low chair or stool. Hold for 15 minutes. Keep your feet planted. Keep both feet flat on the floor when you stand, says Spezzano. The habit of resting weight on one leg while standing can begin an undesirable back curvature. Arch your back. Before you begin your day and again when it is over, arch your back to counteract slumping. Here's one way: On all fours, stretch upward, as if you were an angry cat arching its back. Then lower your back to level it. PANEL OF ADVISERS Jeff Puffer is a television talent coach for Frank N. Magid Associates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Suki Jay Rappaport, Ph.D., is director of the Transformations Institute in Corte Madera, California. A fitness consultant, her doctorate is in movement education and body transformations. Michael Spezzano is a fitness specialist and the national director of the YMCA Healthy Back Program. http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/47/104.cfm Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. 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