Hey everyone,
Have you ever thought of how many hours a day you sit? Stare at a computer screen or
phone? Carry bags around the city? Or get home and fall on to your couch as opposed to being active, walking and exercising?
Unless you are a professional athlete or dancer whose top priority is to gain control of their body, odds are you're spending much of your day in a static position. Sitting at your desk, then sitting at the dining table, then sitting on the couch and then lying in bed.
Countless times I’ve learned about a patient's day to day activities and lifestyle… how they physically carry themselves through these activities, and then bring to their attention their posture and how important it is to their wellbeing. Often, by increasing their awareness and making a specific, even small adjustment to their posture, or even how they distribute carrying their bags, we can make dramatic improvements in their level of comfort and wellness. Making your “sitting time” work for you is helpful for multiple hours a day. Learning to be mindful about, and maintain good posture, enables you to go through your daily life with less stress on your body and less aches and pains.
So often I hear of patients making the rounds to different doctors, trying various medications, including injections, that enable relief in the short term but never fully address the real problem. This is because, far too often, the underlying reason for the discomfort and/or pain is rooted in the maintenance of unhealthy postural habits impacting on the body’s structure and movement. Our body’s habits are powerful and we typically revert back to bad postural habits, despite how detrimental in the short and long term, because they seem more comfortable.
Breaking postural habits and adapting the way we hold ourselves, will enable us to break this cycle.
Try to start noticing when your body is overusing certain muscles, sagging into slouchy positions, or neglecting the use of your postural/core muscles. Each of us has the possibility of identifying what our personal “bad postures" look like and then making adjustments to correct them even when we are just shopping, walking around outside, working at our desk, kicking back on the couch, cooking, driving, and even while sleeping.
Gaining awareness is your first step. I challenge you to concentrate on your body and your movement in order to identify your bad postural habits. Together we can make some changes that will empower you.
Best,
Liron
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