Stand tall with these posture fixes


I must hear “sit-up!” or “don’t slouch” 50 times a day from my mom. I really do want to have better posture but bad habits are hard to kill off. I’ve even invested in some products to help correct my posture.

Good posture is about more than standing up straight so you can look your best,” says MedlinePlus. “It is an important part of your long-term health. Making sure that you hold your body the right way, whether you are moving or still, can prevent pain, injuries, and other health problems.”

They say poor posture can:
  • Misalign your musculoskeletal system 
  • Wear away at your spine, making it more fragile and prone to injury 
  • Cause neck, shoulder, and back pain 
  • Decrease your flexibility 
  • Affect how well your joints move 
  • Affect your balance and increase your risk of falling 
  • Make it harder to digest your food 
  • Make it harder to breathe 
 Yikes, I guess I really need to straighten up (no pun intended). I don’t want to end up looking like a turtle after all, no offense to turtles. 

So now that we know how important maintaining a good posture is, how can we work toward making a habit out of it? 

According to Physiotherapist Nick Sinfield, you should NOT slouch in chairs, stick your butt out, stand with a flat back, lean on one leg, hunch over often and for long periods of time, poke out your chin, round your shoulders, and craddle your phone. 

That sure is a lot of don’ts. Let’s find out what you can do to maintain correct posture. 

The American Chiropractic Association has defined the “proper” ways to sit, stand, and lay: 
  •  Sitting-- You should keep your feet on the floor, don’t cross your legs, relax your shoulders, keep your forearms parallel, and have your knees no higher than your hips 
  •  Standing-- Keep your knees slightly bent, keep feet shoulder-width apart, let your arms hang naturally, stand up tall with shoulders pulled backward, tuck your stomach in, and keep your head level 
  •  Laying-- Find the right mattress for you, sleep with a pillow, avoid sleeping on your stomach, and sleep on your side or back 
 Kind of a lot to remember, but it is important to keep in mind for the sake of your health. Not to mention, maintaining a good posture is attractive. 

Victoria Moorhouse says two tricks helped her: pushing the belly button forward and bringing the shoulder blades back together. 

Well, of course, I tried this and it really worked! It is not too complicated to remember either, I’ll definitely be adopting these practices. 

You can also do certain exercises for better posture. WebMD lists six: 
  • Core stabilizer (single leg extension) 
  • The new crunch (or a curl-up) 
  • Pilates roll-up/yoga situp 
  • Crossover Cobra pose (back extension) 
  • Plank pose 
 All these moves are fairly easy to add to any existing workout you may have. You can also intensify or modify each if needed. 

Achieving good posture can be harder than you think but, by being mindful and changing small aspects of how you sit and stand, you can positively affect your future health. It’s all about retraining yourself and breaking that bad habit--and, your mom will thank you for it.<