Have you considered your posture?
Hello there!
So are you struggling with discomfort in your neck or back?
If so, an important factor to consider is your posture. How we hold ourselves during our day to day activities, how we move, how we sit and sleep all influences our bodies and minds on not just the structural level.
So let’s start with the more well known aspects of posture.
Most of us have jobs, hobbies or even how we sit when we are relaxing at home that are repetitive and may cause stress to our bodies. We move or sit the same way for prolonged periods, whether we are working on our laptops and computers, twisting repetitively in awkward positions, crawling around on our knees on the floor, having our arms up above our heads to work, etc. All these actions cause a level of physical stress to the body for different reasons, and over time can take their toll causing wear and tear, muscular imbalances, and eventually restriction to movement and pain.
Our bodies give us clues as to whether it is coping with the demands by giving us clues like discomfort or stiffness, but if we choose to ignore these when we are setting ourselves up for a fall!! We need to look after and listen to our bodies, and these warning signs are indicators that our body is struggling to cope.
If you want to keep functioning effectively, then maintenance is required to assist. This could be some different movements to help counter balance the body, and improve symmetry and strength. Maybe some corrective exercises/stretches or movement may be in the gym, some walking, swimming, yoga, Pilates, or just some mindful and intuitive movement like dancing. Whatever feels good to you! It could also mean you need to rest more to let your body recover.
Below are some tips on the do’s and don'ts on how to arrange your seating position:
If you can become more aware of how you are using your body regularly, it can help us identify ways to manage the demands of what you need to do, and keep your body much happier whilst you do it!
For example if your at a desk all day, take regular breaks, even if its just to get up to grab a drink (always beneficial to stay hydrated with water rather than tea, coffee or fizzy pop), or use the bathroom can help get you moving.
Staying in one position for long periods is really no good for our bodies, so alternate your position with something like standing at the kitchen counter for a while with your tablet/computer, etc. Or even better go for a little walk if you can, even if it's just round the room.
Take some full deep breaths expanding and contracting your lungs all the way in and out, and give your body a shake. Do what ever feels good to get some movement and breath back in.
So, another perspective that our posture reflects is via our mood and emotions.
When we are tired, feeling down, stressed or anxious we will tend to be more slouchy and in a defensive posture as we resist the things that are upsetting us.
The more we slouch, it sends messages to the nervous system to put on the brakes to activate our “fight, flights, freeze” response or sympathetic nervous system. You try looking in the mirror and pulling a sad frowny face. You will notice you automatically want to drop your head forward and slouch.
The more we become aware of this pattern, the more we attention we can put on lengthening through our neck (not pulling our shoulders back, just let them hang as loose as possible) so we stand more upright with our head over our shoulders, over our hips. This helps to send a message to our nervous system to lift our mood. So stand tall and see how much better it makes you feel in an instant!
If you need any help or advice on what else you can do to help your body during this time, or are suffering any discomfort, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly on 07732053005.
