You and Your Posture

It’s cool to stand well: the importance of good posture

Humans have been standing upright for several million years. Nevertheless and strangely enough, many of us still haven ’t got it quite right. Posture is the way we stand, sit and move. Good posture makes a difference to the way we look; the way we feel. Most important, it’s the way other people see us and the way we present ourselves to the world.

Standing tall with our shoulders straight and our bottoms tucked under is not only cool, it’s the best way to keep our bodies in good working order and to prevent back pain.

Sitting for hours at a computer often results in pain in the neck and shoulders due to poor sitting posture.

The models on the catwalk or the singer on the video clip learned this lesson the hard way. If they didn’t, they didn’t make the grade and earn the money. They reduce the strain on their bodies, they look good and they have the stamina to last all night long, if needs be. Some tricks of the trade can be used (like stage lighting and make-up) but nothing, absolutely nothing, can hide slouches and slumps.

Remember Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge? Surely, she would have been far less stunning if she had stood with rounded shoulders and her belly flopped out.
People who stand badly look sad. People who stand well look attractive.
Posture is a large part of “body language” i.e., the way you look gives the rest of the world a message about who you are and how you feel.

People with good posture tell the world they are confident about themselves. They look you straight in the eye. They know they are “in” and everyone else knows it too. Terms like “high self-esteem” are used to describe these confident people. It’s all about body image which, in simple terms, means the way you look.

How can the way a person looks send this message?

Our great grandmothers nagged our grandmothers and grandfathers to keep their shoulders back and to walk as if ‘balancing a book on one’s head’. Today, apart from occasional jokes from parents, teachers and sporting coaches this particular message has been sadly lost. No longer does the teacher slap teenagers between the shoulder blades when they are caught slouching. Now, they could be taken to court for child abuse. But really this was a good lesson.

Parents are often the first to notice when their teenager is standing poorly. Unfortunately, this comes at the same time when Mums and Dads seem to be “nagging all the time”: about the dirty socks strewn around bedrooms, lengthy phone conversations with friends or the unfinished assignment which was due last week.

Don’t misunderstand us; they are all important issues to worry about! Mums and Dads should worry about their teenager’s posture (and the odour of smelly socks permeating from the bedroom!), but it’s just, teenagers aren’t ready to take on board so many complaints delivered at the same time. Unfortunately, posture just becomes another issue to whinge about. Reluctant teenagers are dragged to doctors kicking and screaming all the way as Mum proceeds to complain about the way he/she sits or stands. Most times the teenager feels no pain, so most times, they just don’t see why Mum is making a big deal over nothing.

The tall teenager is particularly at risk. Uncomfortable with their tallness, often towering over still-developing friends, these teenagers in an attempt to shrink, stand badly. Shoulders are rounded, arms crossed, backs slouched and eyes are looking at the ground.

Girls with big breasts or the “early developers” are a high risk too. They are often self-conscious and try to hide their emerging sexuality. Fashion trends can play a role here. Sometimes, clothing trends favour the flat-chested look, sometimes the reverse is true. Currently, breasts are “in” and can be displayed with pride. Despite this, however, some girls still feel uncomfortable and try, in vain, to hide. The breasts don’t get any smaller, but the posture becomes more and more slouched.

Teenagers aren’t alone. We all need reminders to stand tall, even Mums and Dads! Have you ever stood in a changing room in a clothing shop and really looked at the way you stand? Have you asked yourself if your tummy pokes out? Do you look better when you suck it in?

With a little effort you can notice a big change in the way you look. Have you noticed, too, that when you look good, you feel good too? What about the clothes you are trying on. Don’t they look better when you stand well?

How the body works

When we slouch, our head and shoulders drop forward, our belly flops and our bottom sticks out. With time, our muscles weaken, our joints tighten and the natural curves of our back increase. This sends the wrong messages to our brain, which then tells us we feel tired, sore, awkward and unattractive.
Tired, weak muscles make us slouch more. It’s a bit like the chicken and the egg, it’s difficult to work out which comes first – poor posture or weak, tired muscles.

Sometimes poor posture causes pain, sometimes it doesn’t. When pain is a problem we are more likely to do something, i.e., we are more likely to work at fixing the problem. Improve the posture - postural pain goes away. Ignore the bad posture - the pain can get worse.

Surprisingly, some teenagers have incredibly awful posture and yet experience no pain. These kids are often less motivated to change. The exception is, of course, the teenage girl who is becoming more conscious of her appearance.
No one knows why some people naturally have better posture than others. Bad posture becomes a bad habit. But, with effort and exercise we can reverse this and learn to stand tall, look good and feel better.

The longer bad posture continues the harder you will need to work to correct it. It is much easier to correct a bad habit at a younger age. So if you’re a teenager, now is the time to work at it. If you are the parent of a teenager, gently encourage them. Nagging won’t work, especially with teenagers.

Remember, when you are learning anything new it takes a while to get it right. Your muscles may ache because they are not used to doing this work. They will tire quickly.

Standing the right way will feel wrong to start with. As the days pass, this will change. Muscles will no longer feel tired and joints will no longer ache. Soon, wrong will feel wrong and right will feel right. Enjoy the new you!