Good Posture Equals Good Health!

Mom wasn’t right when she said that video games would rot your brain, but she was right when she told you to sit up straight. Good posture improves not just your appearance, but your health. When your posture is bad, the pressure on your spine is increased. This can lead to tension, soreness, headaches, back pain, and fatigue.

Postural imbalance also compresses your internal organs, reducing their efficiency and normal function. This may cause such issues as respiratory problems, chest tightness, high blood pressure, or poor digestion. Fatigue is the most common symptom of poor posture. It take a lot of energy to hold the body in an awkward potion and that can cause breathing capacity to be decreased by up to 30%!

Poor Posture can even undo your workout! When you slouch, your ab muscles — the ones you’ve worked so hard on to define and sculpt — once again turn off. By practicing better posture you’ll be ensuring that you keep your core engaged, even when you’re not at the gym. Core strength is crucial to good posture.

Follow These Tips To Good Posture!

Hold your chest high.
Keep your shoulders back and relaxed.
Pull in your abdomen and buttocks.
Keep your feet parallel.
Balance your weight evenly on both feet.
Try not to tilt your head forward, backward, or sideways
Make sure your knees are relaxed — not locked.

Better-Posture Exercises

Add these exercises to your regular workouts. Exhale strongly and pull in your core muscles as you work – just like in Pilates and yoga.

Hundreds Prep

1. Lie on your back.
2. If you have lower back pain (often cause by an excessive curvature of the lower spine), place pillows or towels under your head.
3. If you have more of an upper body “hunch,” place a small rolled-up towel between your lower back and the floor.
4. Bend your knees and squeeze a rolled up towel or ball between your inner thighs.
5. Let your back widen against the floor, and place one hand on your low belly and the other on your bottom rib.
6. On an exhale, very slowly lift your lower legs to a tabletop position.
7. Inhale and exhale (each for five slow counts) in this position, then lower your legs with an exhale.
8. Repeat 10 times, keeping your butt glued to the floor at all times and using the breath — coming deep into your belly — to make you feel like you are connecting your bottom rib to your hips.

Crossovers

1. Lie on your back with your hands behind your head, your chest lifted off the floor, knees pulled into your chest. Keep your low back pressed into the floor.
2. Exhale strongly and pull your navel in and up toward your spine.
3. Pull one knee into your chest while extending your other leg straight and rotating your torso toward the bent knee.
4. Slowly switch legs, pulling the other knee into your chest and rotating your torso toward it while extending the opposite leg off the floor.
5. Repeat five to 10 times, adding more as your core gets stronger.

Cobra Pose

1. Lie on your stomach with palms flat on the floor near your ribs. Extend your legs straight behind you, and press the tops of your feet into the floor.
2. Exhale strongly and pull your abdominal muscles in and up toward your spine.
3. Lengthen out through your spine and slowly raise your head and chest off the floor, using only your back muscles. Do not push down into your arms to press up.
4. Keep your hip bones on the floor, and gaze down at the floor to relax your neck muscles.
5. Slowly lower back down.
6. Repeat three to five times, adding more as your lower back gets stronger.

Learn More About Posture!