Posture is a term coined to describe the way you sit or stand. Throughout the day, we are continually going from sitting to standing and at the end of the day we may find that our bodies ache and are in pain. Our posture, the way we stand and sit throughout the day can contribute to our discomfort.

Having poor posture can contribute to many things:

– Back and neck pain
– Poor balance
– Difficulty breathing

Poor posture comes from the weakness in your core and in the spine. There are muscles that help you stay upright throughout the day. When these muscles are weak, they lose the ability to hold you up and therefore you may slouch. These muscled become weak when one lives sedentary lifestyles and neglect exercising these muscles.

What to do?

– BE AWARE! IT is important to check your posture throughout the day and re-adjust if needed. Stand up and stretch after sitting after a long period of time. The more mindful you are of your posture, the more you can correct it.

– EXERCISE! The core muscles need to be strengthened in order to keep you upright. Find time to go to the gym or work with a physiotherapist to help you target the muscles that need to be strengthened.

– Evaluate your work area. Our posture can tend to go bad when we are at our work stations. Jobs that require you to be sitting for an extended period of time can be a risk to your posture. Check your area and find ways in which you can change it to better facilitate good posture.

For example, a standing desk or a higher chair can help you with your workspace.

It is important that we are mindful of our bodies throughout the day. A poor posture can be the reason behind the discomfort you may be feeling. The more aware we are about our posture, the more we are capable of fixing it when needed!