#22 Check your posture
I have become much more aware of my posture recently. Working from home every day instead of being out at meetings and spending way more time seated on webcam calls can take its toll. I remember vividly being nagged by my parents about posture as a child – stand up straight, don’t hunch your shoulders, don’t slump in your chair, blah blah blah.
Firstly – what is posture? It refers to our body position when we are standing, sitting, lying down and when we are doing certain movements like lifting, bending and twisting.
There are a number of good reasons why we should pay more attention to our posture:
To prevent or reduce lower back pain – Sitting or standing in a slouched position for prolonged periods of time stresses your lower back
To reduce stress on the body – Proper posture also reduces the stress on the ligaments that support the joints and hold them together. By keeping our bones and joins in the correct alignment, our muscles are used more efficiently which means we are not wasting excess energy
To minimise wear and tear – Abnormal wear and tear does a lot of harm to your joints and can cause complaints such as arthritis later in life in your back, your hips, your knees, and your ankles
To make us look taller and slimmer - good posture also makes us look and feel more confident
To improve breathing – When you have good posture, your lungs fill more efficiently, allowing more oxygen to be supplied to your body which can help you feel energised
I suffered from a bulging disc in my lower spine a few years ago and it flairs up if I sit for too long in one position or move in a way to aggravate it.
I invested in a vari-desk which can be adjusted to work in a standing or seated position as there is evidence that spending more time standing is beneficial. I love it and it definitely gives me more energy than sitting but as you can see from the above photo, I have to remind myself to stand up for part of the day!
Guidelines for good seated posture:
Make sure that your work chair is the right height so that your computer is at eye height
Don’t cross your legs – keep knees even and point your feet straight ahead
Keep your back upright – don’t slouch
Distribute your body weight evenly on both feet
Guidelines for good standing posture:
Maintain a straight spine wherever possible rather than slouching to one side
Avoid slouching forward or hyperextending
Keep your chin up with your head centered over the shoulders
keep the feet slightly less than shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent
Let’s try to be more aware of our posture and get up and move around regularly. Don’t forget yoga is a great keep your body nimble and flexible and your joints supple (mind you, for me, yoga is the answer to many things!)
