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| Remember we all start off like this but something starts to wrong soon after we start school but we can do something ourselves to restore some of our natural poise by noticing our postural habits |
#1 What type of chair are you sitting on?
I prefer a plain old stool, Chair backs make you lazy and stop your postural muscles in your back from working.
#2 Locate your sitting bones and use them!
While sitting slide your hand underneath your bottom and locate the two nobbley bits - these are your sitting bones and form the basis of the support for your upper body when sitting. Now slump, what do you notice (you are no longer sitting on your sitting bones). So find your sit bones again - you will probably feel more balanced and poised and on your way to better posture.
#3 Wear your invisible crown
Think that you are wearing an invisible crown and think into the top of your head as your spine lengthens towards the crown of your head. Alternatively you could think of the upper molars (the teeth at the back) coming away from your sitting bones. You may get a sense of your torso lengthening at this point.
#4 Notice where your feet are
Are your feet tucked under the chair or your legs crossed? We all know these are bad habits, but seriously they are bad habits which may cause us to overarch our lower spine as we need our legs and feet to help support the weight of our upper body.
#5 Notice any tension in your shoulders
Observe any tension in your shoulders and allow them to soften. Slumping causes us to have rounded shoulders and a rounded upper torso, which ultimately can develop into a dowagers hump.
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| This lady is slumped and as a result her shoulders are rounded If she was sat upright on her sit bones she would naturally have a more upright posture with open shoulders . |
So to recap, we now know we have sit bones, so try using them more. Why not put a post it note on the edge of your computer screen to remind you. We can think into our invisible crown and notice if our shoulders are opening out naturally or are they rounded or raised.
Apply these basic skills and you are on your way to having better posture.
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