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“I want to get old gracefully. I want to have good posture, I want to be healthy and be an example to my children.” – Sting

When considering personal growth or self-improvement, good posture isn’t something that most of us prioritize much. But, it’s something that is a very important part of our physical & mental wellbeing as well as something capable of affecting our productivity in professional life.

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Benefits of good posture

Bad posture can cause a lot of health issues either directly or indirectly. It can cause fatigue, stiffness, headaches, back, neck and shoulder pain, digestion issues, nerve impingement, sciatica, back, hip and leg joint injuries to muscle weakness.

When you maintain good posture

• It reduces unwanted stress on unrelated muscles. Result – improved wellness with less aches & pains as well as reduced bone joint erosion, muscle tension, and ligament injuries.
• You breathe better because your lungs & diaphragm get enough space to move properly. Result – better oxygenation for our body ensuring improved health of vital internal organs.
• Good posture makes you look and feel more confident. Slouching will tire you out faster both physically & mentally.
• When you don’t put unwanted pressure on the stomach with bad posture, digestion improves helping maintain proper body weight.

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Can you fix bad posture

Unhealthy posture is absolutely fixable. Age, body weight or other similar things don’t matter when it comes to improving the way you carry yourself. What matters is the right mindset & your conviction to see it through.

Bad posture, obesity, & weak postural muscles add to unhealthy body stance. Tight front body muscles & weak muscles at the back make our bone structure tilt out of position. The earlier we recognize the problem, the easier it becomes to rectify.

So the best way to regain good posture is to strengthen the muscles that are ‘allowing’ the joints to stay in the wrong position and stretching the ones ‘pulling’ these joints the wrong way. Balanced muscles on both sides of the spine support healthy body positioning.

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How do I correct my posture

• To ensure good posture at all times without having to put in too much thought, make it a habit. Being mindful of how you carry yourself can help make it become effortless.
• Simple stretching and other exercises every day can also go a long way. Climbing stairs and power walking are two very simple yet effective ways to maintain good posture and sense of balance throughout your life.
• Including yoga or Pilates in your regular workout routine if you can. The idea is to strengthen the right muscle groups and make a mindset shift that’s better able to deal with bad posture.
• Strengthening the core muscles (abdomen and pelvic) also boosts the maintenance of correct posture.
• Reasonable muscle flexibility & power, normal joint motion including that of the spine, and mindfulness of posture at all times help maintain good body stance.

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Good posture exercises

These tips are more about making healthy tweaks to what you normally do without putting in additional effort. Simple exercises like doorway shoulder stretching routines will help open up your chest muscles & slowly get rid of those hunched shoulders for good posture.

Sure, exercises help reverse the effects of bad posture. But what helps reach there faster & maintain it longer is being mindful of how you sit, stand and generally carry yourself. These mindfulness exercises or little reminders to not slouch, look up, or lift heavy things using your legs rather than back will help you regain good posture faster.

Why? Simply because they don’t require any additional effort and not branded as ‘exercise’, which usually gets our brain into rebellion mode. If you convince yourself that something won’t require extra effort, it becomes easier to turn that into a habit.

1. When standing:

Imagine yourself trying to balance a book on your head. Keep your –

• Head pulled up, not leaning forward or tilted to the sides.
• Ears should be in line with the shoulders.
• Straighten your spine, pulling it upwards.
• The toes should point forward and not rotated inward or in a duck-waddle position.

If standing for long periods of time, place the feet shoulder width apart and keep shifting weight from one foot to the other and from heel to toes.

2. While sitting:

• Keep shoulders relaxed and forearms parallel to the ground. There should be a 90 to 75 degrees angle at your elbow joint.
• Ensure sufficient support to your lower back, maybe with a backrest.
• Back of knees shouldn’t touch the seat end.
• Keep ankles in front of your knees.
• Feet should rest on some support or the ground.

All this might sound a bit too cumbersome but is actually a very comfortable position. Once you get the hang of it, maintaining good posture while sitting will become effortless.

If you spend most of your day at the desk, get up & stretch or move at regular intervals to avoid all those aches & pains towards the end of the day.

3. Yes, even when you’re lying down:

• Your mattress should mold itself according to your spine and offer complete support.
• Use a pillow that keeps your neck aligned to the rest of your spine, not propped up or hanging down.
• Try to sleep either on your side or back. If sleeping on your side, place a pillow between your legs so that the muscles on the upper leg aren’t left in a stressful position.
• Stretch before going to bed and loosen up stressed muscles.

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4. When lifting something heavy:

The simplest way to avoid back injury while lifting something is to bend your body at the knees rather than at the hips. The leg muscles are better adapted to support for such strains than stomach and lower back muscles.

• Before lifting something heavy, get into a squatting position lower than or as near the item’s level as possible.
• Keep your back straight.
• After grabbing the object, focus on straightening out your knee-joint standing up. You should feel pressure on the calf and thigh muscles.

5. For walking and running:

While walking –

• Keep the chin parallel to the ground.
• Walk with the heel hitting the ground first, rolling the weight over to the toes.

While running –

• lean forward slightly.
• Hit the ground first with mid-foot rolling the weight over to the toes.
• The elbows should ideally be held at a 90-degree angle.

6. For continuing good posture even in old age:

To help maintain balance and a proper posture even at a mature age, practice walking barefoot on sand or grass. The idea is to let our body adjust to altered balance conditions in a minimal injury setup.

This won’t only offer very good exercise to the feet muscles strengthening them, but will also help improve your brain’s balance perception for the body.

To maintain a straight posture and avoid stooping with age, start working on your torso muscles at least in your late 40s.

If you have strong lower back & shoulder muscles with flexible chest & stomach muscles, maintaining good posture in advanced age will be effortless.

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Persistence, perseverance, and mindfulness are the keys here. Good posture doesn’t only reflect a positive personality but is also important for our overall health and wellbeing.

It’s easy to fall into bad habits. But once you replace it with healthy ones, maintaining good posture becomes effortless & part of your personality.

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So tell me, how do you maintain a good posture? Is it easier in some positions like sitting or lying down than others?

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