How's Your Posture?
By Sara Butler
Right now, as you’re reading this, how’s your posture? Are you sitting slumped over as you stare at your computer screen? Or perhaps you’re reading this on your mobile device, looking down with your head hanging forward? If so, then you’re not practicing very good posture. Sure -- you’ve heard it all before from your mom and grandmother, that you should sit up straight and have good posture! It’s normal to question exactly why you would want to try to have good posture. There are many benefits to good posture. So if you don’t have it, then this may be why you should want to try!
The Benefits of Good Posture
There are several benefits to practicing good posture. They are:
- Better breathing – Breathing is pretty important and good posture enables you to do it properly. It makes a difference in the amount of air you can inhale when breathing.
- Increased concentration – Your cognitive abilities improve when you practice good posture. That’s because the aforementioned breathing allows you brain to get more oxygen, which leads to better function.
- Look better – There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good, and posture is a small way to make a big improvement in how you look to the rest of the world. People with good posture are viewed as being more attractive and even smarter on a subconscious level by other people. If you practice good posture, you naturally exude confidence and appeal.
- Feel good – When you practice good posture, you feel better about yourself. You’re more confident when you’re out in the world if you stand tall with your head up.
- Better health – You can avoid complications of poor posture such as increased risk of back problems, back pain, and poor circulation.
What is Good Posture?
You may think that good posture means keeping your back totally straight, but that’s not the case. Your spine has natural curves and good posture supports and maintains the natural curves of the spine. Practicing good posture should feel effortless since your weight is evenly distributed and your body is relaxed.
Look in the mirror from all angles to critique your posture. Your head should be above your shoulders, your arms relaxed, and the weight of your body distributed on the balls of your feet. If it doesn’t seem quite right, then talk to a chiropractor at The Joint to figure out where you may be going wrong and what you can do to improve it.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.