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PROPER POSTURE CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HOW YOU LOOK AND FEEL!Proper Posture... it's a lot more than, "chest up, shoulders back". Yes, a lot more. When people talk about their health or fitness level, there is always one topic that seems to be left out. This one small thing may be the most overlooked part of one’s health and fitness program out there today. The topic is: YOUR POSTURE! Hope that wasn’t too loud for you, but the point is, “It IS very important!”,and because it is a necessity for optimal health, it should not be overlooked. I have had very few clients in the past that I have not spent a large amount of time and energy focusing on how they held themselves while standing, sitting, walking and running. Why?
Because all PROPER movement MUST start with a strong foundation!This strong foundation, or proper postural positioning can be better understood by using something called a plum-line. Picture a weighted string starting above your head down to the floor. That string will create the alignment that is best for you, and where your body should be while standing. The string should be right behind your ear, the top of your shoulder, top of your hip, back of the knee, and the middle of your ankle. I have found the most common challenges being: head and shoulders forward. This incorrect mechanical position is normally created by years and years in a chair at a computer. Thank you very much sedentary lifestyle! If were still hunting and gathering, posture issues would be non-existent. The challenge here is not to just pull your head and shoulders back, but to strengthen the extensors of the neck and the retractors of the shoulder girdle. It will be literally impossible to just “mentally” improve your body position by reminding yourself that you are slouching. That is why telling children to “sit up straight” only works for minutes at a time because they just don’t have the strength it takes to hold themselves tall. Yes, this is true... and it is sad. A proper body position while sitting and standing is definitely worth looking into as for some people they may actually see the following improvements: 2” increase in height, 2” lost abound the waist, look 10# lighter, and even 10 years younger. In addition, you will feel quite a bit better if all your bones are stacked properly and your muscles are not in positions of being overly lengthened or shortened.
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