| The ancient Japanese art form
of growing Bonsai trees is fascinating. Bonsai trees are
essentially normal shrubs that have been consistently
stressed in a particular way for a long time to create a
posture which would never be found in nature. Depending
on how the tree is stressed while it grows, it may end
up looking like a miniature version of a full-sized
tree, or it may end up looking like a wild tangle of
branches with twists and loops. To most people, "good
posture" simply means sitting and standing up straight.
Few of us realize the importance of posture to our
health and performance.
The human body craves alignment. When we are properly
aligned, our bones, not our muscles, support our weight,
reducing effort and strain. The big payoff with proper
posture is that we feel healthier, have more energy, and
move gracefully. So while the word "posture" may conjure
up images of book-balancing charm-school girls, it is
not just about standing up straight. It’s about being
aware of and connected to every part of your self.
Posture ranks right up at the top of
the list when you are talking about good health. It is
as important as eating right, exercising, getting proper
rest and avoiding potentially harmful substances like
alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Good posture is a way of
doing things with more energy, less stress and fatigue.
Without good posture, you cannot really be physically
fit. Without good posture, you can actually damage your
spine every time you exercise.
Ideally, our bones stack up one upon
the other: the head rests directly on top of the spine,
which sits directly over the pelvis, which sits directly
over the knees and ankles. But if you spend hours every
day sitting in a chair, if you hunch forward or balance
your weight primarily on one leg, the muscles of your
neck and back have to carry the weight of the body
rather than it being supported by the spine. The
resulting tension and joint pressure can affect you not
only physically, but emotionally, too, -- from the
predictable shoulder and back pain to headaches, short
attention span, and depression.
Poor posture distorts the alignment
of bones, chronically tenses muscles, and contributes to
stressful conditions such as loss of vital lung
capacity, increased fatigue, reduced blood and oxygen to
the brain, limited range of motion, stiffness of joints,
pain syndromes, reduced mental alertness, and decreased
productivity at work. According to the Nobel Laureate
Dr. Roger Sperry, "the more mechanically distorted a
person is, the less energy is available for thinking,
metabolism, and healing."
The most immediate problem with poor
posture is that it creates a lot of chronic muscle
tension as the weight of the head and upper body must be
supported by the muscles instead of the bones. This
effect becomes more pronounced the further your posture
deviates from your body’s center of balance.
To illustrate this idea further,
think about carrying a briefcase. If you had to carry a
briefcase with your arms outstretched in front of you,
it would not take long before the muscles of your
shoulders would be completely exhausted. This is because
carrying the briefcase far away from your center of
balance places undue stress on your shoulder muscles. If
you held the same briefcase down at your side, your
muscles would not fatigue as quickly, because the
briefcase is closer to your center of balance and
therefore the weight is supported by the bones of the
skeleton, rather than the muscles.
In some parts of the world, women can
carry big pots full of water from distant water sources
back to their homes. They are able to carry these heavy
pots a long distance without significant effort because
they balance them on the top of their heads, thereby
carrying them at their center of balance and allowing
the strength of their skeleton to bear the weight,
rather than their muscles.
Correcting bad posture and the
physical problems that result can be accomplished in two
ways. The first is by eliminating as much "bad" stress
from your body as possible. Bad stress includes all the
factors, habits, or stressors that cause your body to
deviate from your structural center. Bad stress can
result from a poorly adjusted workstation at work, from
not having your seat adjusted correctly in your car, or
even from carrying too much weight around in a heavy
purse or backpack.
The second is by applying "good"
stress on the body in an effort to move your posture
back toward your center of balance. This is accomplished
through a series of exercises, stretches, adjustments,
and changes to your physical environment, all designed
to help correct your posture. Getting your body back to
its center of balance by improving your posture is
critically important to improving how you feel.
Call us at (215)340-9949 to receive
relief now. |