Easily Improve Your Posture
Most of us don’t have great posture all of the time. When we slouch repeatedly as we age however, our upper backs start to round into the “old lady hump” (kyphosis) and the arch in our lower back increases (lordosis).
This poor posture causes our heads to pull forward, our shoulders to cave inward and our abdomen to extend outward. This complete lack of alignment ultimately results in physical pain in our neck, shoulders and low back.
So how do you easily improve your posture? You zip up your tight pants!
No I don’t mean this literally, but who hasn’t struggled to zip up a pair of tight pants at least once in their lives?
What actually happens when you try to zip up a pair of tight pants and how does this improve your posture?
In order to zip the pants, you have to pull your belly button in and up, which means you are engaging your lower abdominal muscles.
When step number one happens, your shoulders and chest automatically open up and your head pulls back into alignments as your spine lengthens.
While “wearing your tight pants”, you inevitably maintain this good postural position because there is no space for your lower abdomen muscles to release and as long as your abs are active, your great posture remains.
You literally can’t slouch while your abs are engaged!
It definitely takes some practice to maintain this position but we all know what it feels like so we can practice “zipping our tight pants” repeatedly throughout the day and notice how your posture improves immediately.
Your shoulders relax and your shoulder blades come together and downward.
You head gets to rest comfortably on your spine rather than pulling on your neck.
Your bones can support the weight of your body because it is in proper alignment and there is less work for your muscles to do.
As an added bonus, when you’re maintaining your great posture by using your core muscles, you’re also improving your balance.
You’re putting your body into the position it was designed to be in (before most of us started sitting too much and allowing our core muscles to weaken).
It really does work.
Action Steps:
Notice your posture right now whether you’re sitting or standing.
What do you do that creates discomfort in your body (neck, shoulders, low back)?
Now try “zipping up your tight pants” and pay attention to what happens to your posture.
Can you maintain that position as you start to move around and go about the activities of your life?
When you’ve forgotten about your “tight pants” and realize you’ve lost your good posture, repeat steps 1 & 2.
