How to Fix Bad Posture
Posted on | August 28, 2008 | 8 Comments
|
Bad posture, we all have it.
What!? Your posture is perfect? If that is the case please stop reading now and go for a walk or call your mother(I’m honored to meet you, you’re in a class of your own).
For the rest of us, the non-perfect posture owners, keep on reading to learn what makes posture bad and how to fix bad posture.
The drive to transition and fix bad posture has one common, simple root – gravity!
You see, gravity effects everything(not only apples). As we stand, roll our eyes, play bocce ball or read a wonderful and engaging blogs(like this one), gravity is there. It is pushing our bodies down and keeping us from flying away in the outer space(a very positive thing).
As gravity pulls us down(and as much fun as that is), this force does put stress on our joints, muscle tissues and organs.
It is also important to note that human body is a structure. Yes, like a building…a moving building with an ever changing center of mass(sigh… I guess I have to ride this analogy all the way now).
As we move, different parts of our bodies endure more stress than others. Our posture dictates whether gravity flows through us or gets ’stuck’ in those unfortunate joints and muscles that happen to be near by.
We can equate good, upright and aligned posture with feeling great, where is bad posture usually brings much chronic pain and tension. And all because of that pesky gravity!
Since gravity is not going away anytime soon, we must learn how to fix bad posture to enjoy our lives and shift our focus to something other then chronic pain and tension.
To fix bad posture we must rewire our brains(why? I’m getting to it, keep on reading).
You see, our body remembers our posture. For us unlucky souls, our bodies remember bad posture. Well, it’s not really our bodies. Brain does all of the remembering. It is like a juiced up puppet master. It is used to moving our body a certain way, with a certain bad posture that we are trying to get rid off.
So the permanent way to fix bad posture is to re-educate our brain. Show your gray matter what a good posture is and teach it to maintain it on it’s own.
Conscious efforts to control your posture will fail. Keep your shoulders back! Stand straight! Does that really work? Nope.
There is much more to good posture then proper shoulder positioning and ’standing tall’.
There is no ‘one thing’ that will get you good posture because everything is connected. Ankles, knees, pelvis, vertebrates, shoulders, head, arms. It’s all part of one big chain.
If one element is off, everything goes off balance in an attempt to compensate and return to the lost alignment.
Although you may control ’standing tall’(until you shift your focus to something else), many other aspects proper alignment will go unnoticed(proper foot rotation, knee flexion, hip and pelvic tilts, spinal deviation from various planes, head position, scapula balance to name a few).
They key to fixing bad posture is movement.
Proper movement that engages and challenges your muscles and joints from variety of angles.
To rephrase it – bad posture happens because of inactivity or injury(followed by period inactivity).
Simple? Yes, but not really.
Not all movement is created equal. Yes, variety of movement is nice but some movements will help you and others will make you scream(and grimace) with pain.
What movement is bad? That depends(how do you like that for an answer?).
Depending on your current bad posture, a ‘bad’ movement can put more pressure on the region that is already under much stress.
At the same time, a movement that is ‘good’ will release pressure and provide a comfy blanket of relief.
The good thing is that you always know what movement is bad and what movement will propel your body into the happy land of wellness and happy, functional body.
How do you know? Pain(it’s actually exists to help you)!
Note what type of movement makes you feel worse. Note it. Keep that in mind.
At the same time, pay attention to when you’re feeling great. What have you done? Repeat!
Possible sources of good movements:
- Walking(Start slow, increase distance as you get more comfortable)
- Yoga(pay close attention to how different poses feel. If it feels bad – it is)
- Russian Kettlebell Training(ultimate functional training. Yes, you can do it)
- Tai Chi Exercise
- Balance Drills and Medicine Ball Functional Training
- Playing with kids on jungle gym
Sources of bad movements:
- Running(if your structure and mechanics are off, running will wreck havoc onto your body – expect pain and suffering)
- Exercise Machines(Prevent your body from moving naturally. Avoid at all cost)
- Seating for too long(yes, seating is also an exercise! Avoid it!)
- Driving and inactivity(sigh.. we all do it.. just minimize it)
Keep in mind that once you are out of pain and have better posture we are just beginning.
Huh?
What I mean is this: Once you achieve your level of function, fitness, balance and alignment, you know must maintain it(yes, yes… that m word).
Keep on moving! It will now take less effort but it must be done(or else!)
If you spend your day sitting and typing away at the keyboard(I have those days…) you must(must) spend some time during the same day undoing the damage of sitting.
You have to! Otherwise you will end up will old pattern and old bad posture that you got rid of.
Move, be happy and enjoy!
Popularity: 37% [?]
Tags: bad posture > fix posture > fixing posture > how to fix bad posture > postural therapy > posture
Comments
8 Responses to “How to Fix Bad Posture”
Leave a Reply
September 3rd, 2008 @ 5:19 am
I’ve only been reading since the last few posts, but I am enjoying your views more and more. I’ll be back for more and will be sure to subscribe!
September 5th, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
@Sore Feet Thank you! Look forward to your thoughts and input.
September 16th, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
[...] How to Fix Bad Posture [...]
September 19th, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
Pretty Informative!
Good Work!
October 10th, 2008 @ 10:31 pm
[...] How To Fix Bad Posture [...]
October 21st, 2008 @ 8:01 am
[...] I read from Workout IQ that the key to fix bad posture is movement – proper movement that engages and challenges your muscles and joints from variety of [...]
November 5th, 2008 @ 6:05 am
very good guide!
I am sure it will help a lot
January 18th, 2010 @ 3:29 pm
ok well u say running is bad well im in cross country and my posture is bad but i need to train and run everyday but i dont know how to fix my posture and its killing me