Everybody knows that posture is important, but we don’t always know what we need to do to improve things. 

I love the term, “primal posture.”  It’s a great way to explain the difference between good posture and having your chest puffed out like a spring chicken and shoulders pinched together.  Which is a horrible way to hold your body up, and can only lead to potential shoulder injuries as well as back and neck pain.

We should strive to keep the natural curves of the spine so we can take air into our lungs freely, and our shoulder blades can glide on the curve of the ribcage to enjoy healthy arm and shoulder movement.

This poor old man sitting in the park has the exact opposite problem!  Maintaining good posture requires body awareness and an effort to use our muscles well.  We need to be aware and actively support ourselves, not only when we are standing and sitting still, but when we are moving as well.  That’s a part of why I love Pilates and other mind-body activities!  Of course EVERY activity can become a mind-body activity if you’re staying aware of your body while you’re moving.

There is a lot more to pay attention to than just the upper back and shoulders to maintain great posture!  But this is one example of how important posture improvement is for helping us keep our bodies healthy and fit.  From our head to our feet we’ve got lots to think about in order to keep our bones and body in great alignment!

Here’s a link to a very good article about the importance of learning how to support healthy, natural posture, and why it’s important!  Some good reminders and additional resources for everything I teach and preach about how to improve posture and enjoy better functional movement habits for whole-body health.  Enjoy this article, Don’t Sit up Straight: Why a Natural Posture May Be Better by Laura Grace Weldon.

And if you haven’t taken the quick Posture Quiz at Centerworks.com I’d recommend it as a posture awareness tool.  Find out what parts of your body you might need to pay more attention to for posture improvement.

Your awareness and understanding of how you carry yourself needs to be applied to your standing and sitting posture habits first.  When there are fewer moving parts it is easier to focus on your posture.   But then these good posture habits also need to transfer to all of your movement and exercise activities to strengthen the muscles needed to keep your bones in alignment to move well and avoid injury.

Paying better attention to our posture habits is priceless for good health!