The way we poise ourselves can have an effect on whether or not we enhance harmony within or around us. It also reflects and affects our health.
“A good stance and posture reflects a proper state of mind” – Morihei Ueshiba
Our posture reveals the status of our physical and emotional health. If you have pain somewhere in your body, your posture shifts to accommodate the pain, to ensure that there is less pressure exerted in the painful part of the body so that there is less pain. Apparently, this is also true when it comes to emotional pain. In a TED talk titled Postural Empowerment: The Future of Holistic Wellbeing, Rob Holcroft indicated that he observed that different people he worked with who had anxiety and depression would adopt differing degrees of a foetal position. They would cave in around the heart, which is considered the emotional centre, as if to protect it. He observed that the body was responding in the same way to emotional trauma as it would to physical trauma. He found that when he got people to lift their breast bone, to open up or expose their heart area, he would see a positive emotional shift happen after the initial sense of vulnerability. Physically opening up and exposing the heart area, our emotional centre, can feel overwhelming but also it is quite empowering.
The relationship between the body and the mind is cyclic in nature. They are one system, if you may. How the body acts does affect the mind and how the mind feels also affects the body. So essentially, if you have harmony within, then you will most likely have good posture, if you have or maintain good posture, it enhances or boosts your body functions and thus it increases your well-being.
Our posture also plays a crucial role in how others perceive us. It contributes to the social dynamics that we encounter on a daily basis. Since as human beings we are social creatures, this then becomes such an important aspect of our lives. We utilize posture to draw others to help us out when in trouble, to fend off would-be attackers whether that be physical or emotional attack, we use it to look attractive to others for social and business ends. As Camille Kostek said “Confidence is everything, and the way you carry yourself, your posture, eye contact, all of that plays such a big role in impressions, regardless of your size.”
So the question arises what is good posture?
In an article titled Guide to Good Posture found on medlineplus.gov by the US National Library of Medicine, they indicate that
“Posture is how you hold your body. There are two types:
Dynamic posture is how you hold yourself when you are moving, like when you are walking, running, or bending over to pick up something.
Static posture is how you hold yourself when you are not moving, like when you are sitting, standing, or sleeping.
It is important to make sure that you have good dynamic and static posture.
The key to good posture is the position of your spine. Your spine has three natural curves – at your neck, mid back, and low back. Correct posture should maintain these curves, but not increase them. Your head should be above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulder should be over the hips.”
I found that there are simple ways that help improve posture. In a TED Talk by the title Posture: the Key to Good Health, Annette Verpillot, indicated that our posture is controlled by our unconscious part of the brain just like heart rate and breathing are. She says that our brain is the main determinant of our posture. Our brain controls muscle movement based on two fundamental rules: our feet must be flat on the ground or aligned to the ground and our eyes must be aligned to the horizon. Our posture is developed over time through our interaction with our environment through our feet and our eyes. So when looking at posture, our feet and eyes are key. Annette indicates that eye exercises are a quick and efficient way to align our posture and decrease pain. She says our focus should shift upstream to the brain as opposed to downstream to the muscles and joints. Tiny tweaks like one minute a day eye exercises can lead to big changes. This improves the brain body connection. Annette demonstrates this through a participant who had lower back pain. It was visible that her left shoulder was lower than the right one and indeed her left eye was not aligned. A quick eye exercise helped improve her eye alignment, her shoulders improved and she claimed that her pain decreased to some degree.
The other simple way to improve posture is the positioning of our hands. In an article by the title Improve Your Posture in One Simple Step, Sara Colabro says the simple DIY solution to better posture is to turn your hands up. Whether you are seated or standing. It is that simple.If you are standing, let your hands be at your side and turn the palms to face forward in the direction you are facing . You can even try it right now and feel the difference it makes. It is as though you are being gently pulled backwards, your chest opens up and you breathe in more air.
These are just a few ways I found to be interesting. There are many ways to improve our posture including different kinds of stretches, exercises, improving working spaces, better use of technology such as phones and computers, avoiding sitting for long hours etc.
How mindful are you about your posture?
So clearly, good posture improves our well-being and how we are perceived by the people around us. For us to live an inspired harmonious life, we should be conscious of our posture, ensuring that we adopt a good posture. It is the simple daily habits regarding our posture that will be either beneficial or detrimental to our wellbeing in the long run.
