What is YOUR posture? Do you think it’s good and healthy? Have you ever noticed how you look side-on? You may think you are gorgeous in the mirror, until you see your profile. Warning! This may scare you, so approach checking this out carefully.
Your posture is more than just how you look on the outside. According to the American Journal of Pain Management 1994, “Posture affects and moderates every physiologic function from breathing to hormonal production. Spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture.”
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How does poor posture develop, and more importantly what are some practical and sustainable solutions?
Your posture is a result of how you have adapted to all the physical, mental and emotional stresses in your life. It is where your body has found the least resistance to hold you. Remember how you have performed certain activities repeatedly, like carrying a bag (unevenly) on one side, sitting (slumped) a certain way, or even how you lie (twisted) in bed. These repetitive activities and positions force your body to twist, bend and contort, in order to try to adapt and cope with those repeated physical forces on your body. Emotional and mental stress, including your moods, can also trigger a defence (stress) posture response, which brings your head forward, and creates tension build-up along your spine and nerve system. Over time these patterns can become more lasting.
Your posture is more than just how you LOOK!
Your posture is the window to your spine, and is a reflection of your health and life.
What is YOUR posture?
First you need to be aware that it is even an issue. You can try to look at your self in the mirror, or have your profile photo taken, to see how you look, particularly from the side. Many people have a forward head posture, which means their head is in front of where it should be? There are some very clever and scientific ways to measure this, like finding out what your posture number is. This is the identifying measurement of your posture. It is an indicator, like a blood pressure result or cholesterol result, that further testing may be necessary. There is approximately one extra kilo of load/stress on your spine, for every 2mm of forward head posture.
The shape, tension, tone and patterns in your spine represents the shape, tension, tone and patterns of your life.
What can you do about poor posture?
There are many approaches. You can force your posture to be more straight and even, with belts, braces, awkward exercises, and nagging and ongoing vigilance. Does that ever last? You can change your posture more sustainably, without any force or discomfort, by increasing your awareness and considering what you do that causes your poor posture to develop in the first place.
At Diskin Life Melbourne, our Uniquely Natural, Measurable and Sustainable™ approach includes a comprehensive state-of-the-art physical assessment, followed by a clear description of your condition, and how we plan to assist you to achieve your health and well-being goals and objectives. This approach, is designed to help your body to reprogram its awareness, so you INSTINCTIVELY, AUTOMATICALLY and SUSTAINABLY assume more appropriate and upright posture WITHOUT EVEN TRYING.
