Proper posture will pay off
Do you know how you hold your head? Do you tilt it slightly to one side, or do you let it hang forward, disrupting the straightness of your spine? If your head hangs forward, that puts a lot of strain on the muscles of your neck and upper back.
What about your shoulders? Do you slouch, letting the upper part of your back curve forward? If so, that squishes the muscles of the top of your torso, which may explain the constant pressure and ache you feel after a day of sitting at work.
Sitting is one of the major causes of poor posture. Most of us slump when we sit. Few practice sitting straight with the shoulders held erect and the spinal muscles working to keep the spine straight. In fact, our culture has become a culture of sitting. In our age of convenience and automation, we no longer have to exercise our backs while working. That’s why the ‘civilized’ world’s posture today has devolved instead of evolved.
Those who spend their sitting time not working the muscles needed to stand straight will suffer the atrophy of those muscles, and will no longer even have the muscular strength to stand straight. A short walk around the block does not offset all the hours of the day spent sitting.
You may not even know that your muscles will no longer be able to help you stand straight. To check this out, have someone take pictures of you from each side as well as front and back as you stand normally. Don’t cheat and stand more erect than you usually do. With good posture, your head, shoulders, pelvis, knees and ankles should all be in a straight line with each other. Specifically examine the position of your neck; it should be straight and in line with your backbone. If your neck tilts forward, imagine what the weight of your head is doing to your spine and upper back. Your head weighs about 12 pounds.
The method of restoring the necessary muscle strength to have good posture is, like most exercise routines, a matter of repetition. Some posture experts suggest writing numerous sticky notes and post them everywhere to remind yourself to stand straight. Pull the shoulders back, lift the chest out, straighten the spine by pulling the glutes in to get rid of that curve in the lower back.
Practice better posture constantly. You will be able to breathe deeper. Annoying little aches and pains will disappear. Your chest will look more toned. You will look and feel more confident.