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Easy Ways to Actually Improve Your Posture
Consequences Of Bad Posture
- Slouching promotes low mood, decreased energy levels and can even impair student performance on a math test.
- Upright posture is linked with improved mood and energy levels among people with symptoms of depression.
- The bent-over posture associated with smartphone use could hamper breathing and impair respiratory function.
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Simple Ways To Fix Posture
- Balance-specific workouts address posture and balance problems.
- Quick posture checks in the mirror before and during balance exercises can help you get the most from your...
Good Posture Signs
- chin parallel to the floor
- shoulders even (roll your shoulders up, back, and down to help achieve this)
- neutral spine (no flexing or arching to overemphasize the curve in your lower back)
- arms at your sides with elbows straight and even
- abdominal muscles braced
- hips even
- knees even and pointing straight ahead
- body weight distributed evenly on both feet.
Musculature Fitness And Posture
- Muscles with reduced flexibility limit your range of motion and over time it may lead to posture issues.
- The "core muscles" of the back, side, pelvis, and buttocks form a sturdy central link between your upper and lower body. Imbalances in one muscle affect the others.
- Weak core muscles encourage slumping, which tips your body forward and thus off balance, while strong lower leg muscles also help keep you steady when standing.
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How we're sitting
The childhood advice of sitting up straight, shoulders back, is incorrect.
Sitting this way takes effort. We end up arching our backs by tensing up our muscles. When we tighten them, we...
The tendency to slump
If you tend to slump, you need to learn to lengthen your back. Use the time that you're sitting to stretch yourself against the backrest.
- Sit with your bottom well back in your chair while moving your upper body away from the backrest.
- Place your fists on the front lower border of your rib cage, then gently push back on your rib cage so as to elongate your lower back.
- Then, grab some place of your chair and make yourself taller by gently pushing the top of you away from the bottom.
- In that position, put your back against the chair's backrest. Ideally, the chair would have some grippy thing mid-back to hold you.
A healthier back
For a healthier back, develop the "inner corset" core strength: the group of core muscles that support your spine. Crunches are not the best exercises for this purpose as they also crunch your discs and nerves.
You should engage particular muscles deep in the abdomen and back; then your muscles can take care of your back.
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Get the Wii Fit
... to play games that require balancing and movement.
Playing any games while standing up is also an alternative, as sitting all day is bad for us.
Test Your Posture
Test your back and neck posture against a wall or check proper posture illustrations to find any areas you need to work on when standing.
Be more aware of your feet when you’re standing and adjust your weight so it’s distributed evenly across both feet.
Core Strengthening Exercises
Do pilates and other core strengthening exercises to help you stand taller and maintain a proper posture.
Yoga also does that and emphasizes body awareness and balance.