Liz Seal Holistic Massage
The human body is amazing! Our bodies are complex with many inter-connecting systems and organs working in harmony to keep us healthy. We are put together in such a way as to have an astonishing range of movements and functions, but we will only ’work’ to our optimum ability is everything is aligned correctly…. Which is where good posture comes in.
So, what does good posture look like? Good posture involves being aware of our spine and joints and making conscious efforts to sit and stand with our spine upright and in line. While seated, hips and knees should be at 90⁰ with the feet flat on the floor. Shoulders should be held back a little, rather than rounded. It’s not difficult, but after years of slouching and slumping will take some practice and awareness!
Try this – sit up straight, hips, knees and feet as described above… take a good deep breath in, then exhale slowly and in control. Then round your shoulders, slump forward, rounding the spine and ‘collapse’ in on your tummy…. then breathe in deeply again and exhale. Notice how much more air you can breathe in and out when sitting up straight? While slumped, the organs in your abdomen will be squashed up and less able to carry out their functions. This will limit your digestive system, liver, kidneys and reproductive organs and over time this could lead to reduced efficiency. The capacity of the lungs will be reduced, making it more difficult to take in a full ‘lungful’ of oxygen and exhale as much carbon dioxide. Then, we get onto the effect that collapsing in on yourself will have on your emotional wellbeing.
Just looking at the pictures of the 2 postures, does the slumped over person look unhappy and with the weight of the world on their shoulders? They do to me…
Making a conscious effort to improve our posture will have wide-ranging knock-on effects. This helps to make us look slimmer and happier, allowing our internal organs to function better. Improved posture also holds our muscles and skeleton in the alignment of balance.
It’s not always easy to adapt our surroundings to allow us to have the best posture. Workplaces are generally not designed with individuals in mind and may need to adjust your chair! When we do have some control over our posture, maybe we should make more of an effort to be in line with ourselves. Your lungs and internal organs will thank you!
When posture and alignment are not easy to control, a massage can relieve the muscular discomfort and realign the muscle fibres. Many of my clients come to see me after long hours of driving or time spent hunched over a laptop. They leave feeling taller and more relaxed. For more information, contact me.
If you are interested in this subject and would like to follow-up with more exercises to improve your fitness and flexibility, check out www.paulknightcoaching.com or follow the link on my Facebook page!