Posture.
Shocking News Alert
Prepare yourself. This has likely impacted you and at least one family member.
It’s a common problem. Maybe you’ve even heard about it, experienced it, or seen it?
Slouching. It’s bad.
It looks bad. It squashes your internal organs. It looks bad. It causes heartburn, constipation and slows digestion. It looks bad. It contributes to neck, back and joint pain. It looks bad. It saps your energy, decreases your mood and your ability to think clearly. It looks bad.
**Note: While we all care about wellness and being healthy blah blah blah I’ve discovered over the years the two great needle movers for adopting better, health-supporting habits are (1) pain (2) and vanity.
So here’s what we know about slouching:
(1) It looks bad.
(2) And it feels bad.
Remember your Energy Scan, how did it look? Most of the time we don’t realize how much energy is being leaked or wasted due to postural imbalances caused by (and causing) subluxations. This creates pain and contributes to you feeling low energy and overall, bad.
Hopefully now you’re feeling inspired not only to elevate your wellness and optimize your health but to look better and feel better in the process.
Now I have never met anyone who thinks they couldn’t have better posture.
I also can tell you that NO Tonal Chiropractor in the history of the world would ever suggest you need to try to sit or stand perfectly straight all the time. In fact, what’s commonly thought of as perfect posture is ridiculously uncomfortable and unsustainable. You are not a ballerina in the military. Assuming.
The good news?
Good posture is actually pretty relaxed and easy to improve.
The best description that I’ve heard is to ‘stand or sit with dignity’ so this week I want you to focus on 3 things that will instantly change the way you carry your body or what I call:
The Dignity 3
(1) Drop your shoulders (you aren’t supposed to wear your shoulders are earrings dear one)
(2) Bring your shoulder blades down and towards your spine (like you are squeezing a quarter between them … or your credit card because who even has cash these days)
(3) Imagine there is a balloon attached to your sternum lifting you up and forward
How easy is that?!
So to review, no rigid Ballerina in the military posture (it’s actually just as bad as slouching) instead practice the Dignity 3.
“This week let’s make you look better, feel better and give your organs some extra room to work. Win Win.”
In case you need more convincing here are 6 benefits of good posture:
1. Increased Confidence
Correcting your posture can impact the way you feel about yourself - a study showed that students who held an upright, confident posture actually performed better on math tests.
(with over 21,863,586 views this Ted Talk about power postures and body language by Amy Cuddy is definitely worth a watch)
2. More Energy
Poor posture results in fatigue (remember your Energy Scan?). Practicing the Dignity 3 will help you remain focused and energized.
3. Greater Self-Esteem and Better Mood
In addition to giving you more energy, better posture has been shown to increase self-esteem and boost your mood. Picture Eyeore with his head hanging eyes downcast and let’s be honest not the cheeriest of chaps. Now picture Pooh, walking with dignity and enjoying life. Who would you rather hang out with?
4. Easier Breathing
When the body is aligned correctly, your respiratory tract has more room to breathe literally. Slouching can reduce lung capacity, leading to shortness of breath.
5. Less Frequent Headaches
Bad posture creates tension in the upper back, neck, and shoulders that can manifest as throbbing pain in the base of the skull and sometimes the forehead. Headaches are no fun, so Dignity 3 it up.
6. Reduced Risk of Injury
Proper posture can help you avoid injury, especially to your back, shoulders, arms, and wrists, knees, ankles …. oh wait, every single joint in your body. Imagine a tire on your car that has poor alignment and keeps rubbing against the car bits near it (I am sooooo into cars can you tell?). Over time that tire will wear down faster than the other tires. Don’t do this to your beautiful joints.
You know I think this would be a great place for a deep dive ….
(AND the next time you get adjusted please ask me to check your posture as you do the Dignity 3 )
So here’s a workshop for you all about posture … standing, sitting, sleeping, pooping (wait did she say …. yes she did, and yes, it’s a gamechanger)
Enjoy!
Posture Perfect Workshop
"Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes."
~ Walt Whitman.
"I walk these streets, a loaded six string on my back I play for keeps, 'cause I might not make it back; I been everywhere, and I'm standing tall I've seen a million faces and I've rocked them all."
~ Jon Bon Jovi.
Or you know same sentiment, different words ….
(and fun (true) story:
I’ve actually adjusted one of these fellas many, many times. I’ll let you guess which one.)