A lot of us spend our time either sitting or standing completely still. This greatly affects our posture. Within just a week of sitting using the wrong posture can give you neck strain, back pain and sore muscles. Posture, it may seem something so simple and easy to follow, but a lot of us breaking it every day. So, we’ve asked the people that take proper posture to an art form. Ballerinas and pageant models, these lovely people are trained to maintain proper posture, clean line and elegant strides. These are some of the tips they gave us in improving posture within a few ticks.
Tips to help improve posture:
Have a Ball
If your job requires you to sit all day, then we suggest getting a yoga ball. You might think this looks silly, but this can surely help your posture and strengthen your core. Place the ball in the middle of your desk and sit on it your feet hip width apart. Keep your back straight and shoulder relaxed. When you feel like your leg and arm is starting to hurt, twist your core using the exercise ball or bounce on it. This can reduce the stiffness you feel after sitting for a long period of time.
Schedule Your Stretches
We tend to lose proper posture just after an hour of sitting down. We tend to hunch our body forward towards the computer or TV. We tend to not realize that we are sitting in the wrong posture until we feel a kink in our neck or pain in our lower back. You can limit this by creating an hourly timer to remind you to straighten your back and squeeze your shoulder blades together. This will be a quick posture pick me up. This can stretch out your lower back and shoulder that can reduce stiffness. Repeating this process everyday can make it a permanent habit and there will be no need for setting an alarm. You can upgrade this habit by adding alarms for resting your eyes and for walking. Marionette When you start to feel like your shoulders are dropping forward and your back starting to arch, act like a marionette and pull imaginary strings to sit properly. This is a practice taught to help kids improve their posture and is a great way to make it into a permanent habit. Imagine you’re pulling your head with an invisible string every time you start to lose posture.
Get A Bit of Help
Not all of us are able to sit on a stability ball without any support. Sitting without a backrest can be impossible for people who suffer from chronic pain. You can help improve your posture by getting a lumbar support or a back pad that can properly correct your posture. These items are great for keeping your posture in check. If you have a problem with your posture, purchase these for your office or home. This can help improve your posture and reduce back pain in the long run.
Keep In Mind
Sitting
If you’re sitting remember to keep your neck and back aligned. Keep your knees bent to a 90 degree angle. This will help with optimal comfort and posture. Maintaining this posture can reduce muscle strain or back pain after a long period of sedentary living. Always try to relax your shoulders, typing for a long period of time can cause your shoulder to be tensed. Resulting in strained neck and lopsided shoulders. You can reduce the pain by massaging your shoulder and rolling your shoulder backward.
Standing
A common mistake that people make that causes leg strain is concentrating the weight of the body on the front soles of the feet. This often causes you to hunch yourself forward. Putting most of the weight on the balls of your feet will keep your neck and back in alignment with your shoulders and stomach.
Now that you know about these posture improving tips, it’s now your turn to make a difference. You’ll notice that just after a few days of adapting this poses to your regime; you’ll have less body pain, improved breathing and increased energy levels. Try your best to perform body positioning strengthening and stretching exercises to fully correct your posture. Using bad posture for a long period can cause double chins, headaches, neck strain, stiffness, fatigue, digestion problem, just to name a few.
