"My back is killing me."
"My neck hurts."
"I feel tired all the time."
Proper Posture Can Change Your Life!
Are you practicing proper posture techniques? You may be slouching as you read this. In today’s modern workplace and home environment, we tend to let our distractions sidetrack a simple thing such as proper posture. Since beginning my posture exercises, I have noticed significant differences in my attitude, confidence, and overall balance. Over time, poor posture can cause damage to your spine, inhibit vital blood flow, restrict breathing, and block energy flow through the body.
Per Kenneth K. Hansraj’s study on the effects of neck position and the amount of weight put on one's spine; the angle which you hold your head can dramatically improve your posture and provide incredible relief for your spine. In his study, he states that “People spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads tilted over reading and texting on their smartphones and devices. Cumulatively this is 700 to 1400 hours a year of excess stresses seen about the cervical spine. It is possible that a high school student may spend an extra 5,000 hours in a bad posture.”
"' The weight carried by the spine increases when flexing the neck at varying degrees. An adult head weighs ten to twelve pounds in the neutral position. As the head tilts forward, the forces felt by the neck surges to twenty-seven pounds at fifteen degrees, forty pounds at thirty degrees, forty-nine pounds at forty-five degrees, and sixty pounds at sixty degrees."
There are various ways you can improve your posture to enhance your life! One essential thing you can try is lying down in the supine position. This involves lying flat on your back, preferably without a pillow. You may feel comfortable lying in this position while on the carpet, wood floors, yoga mat, or even your bed. For me, it is most beneficial to lay flat on a hardwood floor while allowing gravity to pull your spine flat to the ground. You can keep your arms to the side, or experiment with different arm and leg movements.
Once you get used to comfortably lying flat in the supine position, you can experiment with stretching your body out from the tips of the toes to the top of the head. If you have enough abdominal strength, see if you can lift your legs directly upwards while keeping your tailbone, spine, shoulders, and head firmly flat. Doing sit-ups and other abdominal core workouts will also help build up the lower back muscles.
We are often stuck behind a desk in chairs with little or no back support. It is important to keep your ears centered over the hips. This will allow you to feel your proper balance while keeping your feet evenly spaced without pointing them to the left or right in any direction.
You can also incorporate yoga and neck stretching into this routine! While doing yoga, I will also incorporate deep breathing Kundalini techniques. This allows me to stretch my lungs, diaphragm, neck, shoulders, and upper body simultaneously.
- Keep your spine and back straight!
- Through your nose: Consciously and Slowly take a full deep breath.
- While inhaling, slowly move your belly out as your diaphragm pulls air to the bottom of your lungs, and allow your lower ribs to expand into your upper ribs.
- Now slowly exhale while pulling your belly in and pushing the air out of the bottom of your lungs, allowing you to contract your bottom and upper ribs for a full exhalation of air.
- Keep this at a slow and comfortable rate and make sure that your inhalation of air is equal to your exhalation. Be sure always to remain comfortable, and keep your back straight!
Over time you may start to develop your routine and path. Follow these methods at your own risk and always give your body time to rest. Be conscious of your posture during your daily activities. You might be surprised how many times you are slouched down like a hunch-back throughout the day! Well… hunch-back no more!! Don’t give up, and the rewards may well be worth it!