Walking TALL

I have been plagued with bad posture my whole life. One of my aunties used to ball up her fist and push her knuckles in between my shoulder blades to force me to stand up straight. My mother would regularly remind me to ‘put my shoulders back’ to encourage straight backness. In fact, my posture worried her so much that she took me to a GP who agreed something wasn’t right and sent me for x-rays to check for scoliosis (this was significant for my ‘my life is a book’ phase - if you’ve read Deenie by Judy Blume, you know what I’m talking about). Even now, my loving partner will catch me in an unguarded moment and ask ‘why are you standing like that?’. Of course, I was not always particularly convinced that there was actually a problem with my posture. Until, a physiotherapist friend of my parents asked me this confronting question: ‘El, why do you stand like an 80 year old woman?’ I was fifteen at the time. When it was backed up by photographic evidence, I had to concede that I did have the appearance of an 80 year old woman with musculoskeletal issues. Not an awesome discovery for a 15 year old girl.

You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing all this information? Well, apart from being a little cathartic, I am getting to the wider point of taking care of our bodies (which I will explain shortly) but first, I need to further explain what I have come to realise about myself whilst planning this post.

I choose to have bad posture.

Kind of ridiculous right? How does someone choose to have bad posture? Firstly, it was proven that there was no medical explanation for my bad posture. More recently, I became aware that there are those who have no choice in their bad posture (namely my dad who actually has scoliosis which causes him daily pain). There is actually no excuse for me to slouch. Again, what does this have to do with anything? Well, once I took ownership over my spinal habits, I wondered what led to my (subconscious) decision to hunch up my shoulders and tilt my head down. And it starts way back in my tweens...

In primary school, I was one of the first girls to get boobs. I was also one of the first to wear a bra (in training, of course). At the time, this didn’t thrill me. Why I wasn’t completely stoked about boobs, I now feel a little sad about. BOOBS! Is there no greater symbol that I am woman?! WO-MAN! I should’ve been celebrating and proud of my new additions. Except that these boobs attracted a lot of unwanted and cruel attention. Unwanted attention that mostly came from boys. And what does one do to avoid unwanted attention? Minimise the very thing that makes you stand out. So I shrank into myself. I hunched over so so much, that surely my boobs wouldn’t be noticed, those mean comments would stop and my bra strap wouldn’t be flicked. I wore my brother’s t-shirts hoping they would swamp and/ or swallow me whole. Every time I heard mum whisper ‘put your shoulders back’ I was actually hearing: ‘thrust out your ample bosom into peoples faces!’ - an idea I was obviously not keen on.

This is all very psychoanalytical, but suffice to say that I was not confident nor proud of my body and this was reflected in the way I stood. 

Which brings me to the power of WALKING TALL.

Don't worry, it's not all sitting in grass and posing

I have been researching a lot about how to maintain good health. Overwhelmingly, when I looked into posture, it contributes a great deal to our physical and mental health. And it really is so simple to change our posture habits. Here’s what I’ve discovered:

Confidence: according to The Confidence Code (an amazing book that I will review very soon), sitting and standing up straight can give bursts of confidence which leads to greater efficiency in many tasks. Stand up straight and you will feel empowered to get jobs done well.

Happiness: upon reading a similar blogpost at Fast Company, when we sit and stand up straight we are more likely to remember positive memories, and think positively more generally. Pretty important for feeling happy every day. 

Energy: good posture is important for maintaining good circulation, which keeps our mind alert and energised. When we slouch, our oxygen tanks (lungs) become compressed, lowering the amount of oxygen released into the blood stream. Less oxygen leads to stress and fatigue according to www.redbookmag.com. Keeping your chin up will keep you going longer.

Mindfulness: engaging consciously with our bodies is useful for minimising negative thoughts. Wriggling your toes, for example, is a common suggestion from mindfulness therapists because we cannot, effectively, focus on wriggling our toes and a bombardment of thoughts at the same time. Purposeful posture will assist with mindfulness practice and quieten your mind.

Musculoskeletal benefits: according to the health wiseos at Huffington Post, good posture can help ward off the effects of osteoporosis and other age-related bone/ muscle issues. Good posture requires an engaged core, supporting and strengthening the muscles around the lower and middle spine. General movement will become easier and maintained over a longer period of time.

Cue my current posture habits. I don't always get it right (using a fitness ball instead of computer chair is helping), but just being aware of the need for better posture increases my effort to make it better. 

And the very good advice my physiotherapist friend gave me at age fifteen had nothing to do with thrusting out boobs or even putting my shoulders back. It was at simple as this:

“Tuck in your bum, tuck in your tummy and picture an invisible string attached to the top of your head. Imagine that someone is pulling that string upwards. Your body will do the rest.”

What do you think readers? Are you a conscious posturist? Any other tips you can share? Would love to hear your thoughts.

And choose good posture - walk like The Rock!

E xxx

NB: This post is of a general nature and should not be used in replacement of advice from a trained medical professional. Care has been taken to be thorough, but you should consult a doctor if you are experiencing ongoing issues related to your health.