Posture Exercises: Do They Cause More Problems Than They Solve?Posture exercises are considered the best way to correct poor posture. However, did you know that no study has ever proved this! In fact, many corrective exercises can make your posture worse.Do you think your posture is poor? Have you tried a course of exercises to correct it? Most people would say they feel their posture could be better but why does it become poor and what is the best way to improve it?
Modern living means most of us are not as active as previous generations. Do you spend long hours sitting at a desk, in your car or when relaxing, do you slump in front of the TV? In these situations you are not using your muscles as nature originally intended. Parts of your body get overworked such as your neck and shoulders whilst others will get weaker, invariably the lower back. Poor posture has been recognized as a factor in health for many years resulting in the development of posture exercises to correct it. But in my view, they're a waste of your valuable time. Try my quick and simple posture tip to see how you can instantly improve your shape without the need for an exercise. However, this approach may be misguided as the focus on specific muscles for improving posture could affect your body's natural support reflexes. (For a full account of the misconceptions regarding posture, see your posture and your health ) Your body has built-in postural reflexes to coordinate muscular activity for support and movement. If your posture has deteriorated it is likely these reflexes are not being allowed to work properly. Stress may be causing you to stiffen your neck and tighten your shoulders. These actions will override your natural mechanisms for balance and movement. Constant inappropriate use of these muscles will eventually corrupt how you move. It becomes a catch-22 problem. The more you move in a poor way, the better you get at moving this way until it feels right. Practice makes permanent, not necessarily perfect! Try my fitness test for coordination and find out if your coordination may be affecting your posture. If you move and use your muscles inappropriately they will become conditioned to work like this. The most obvious symptom is poor posture. But posture exercises will not change the habits that got you into this shape. In fact, I believe they will make the problem worse. Your shape may appear to change but you may be achieving your new shape with unnecessary muscular activity. Remember, when you were young you probably had great posture and you didn't have to think about it once! What exactly is good posture? We all know we should have it. It's good for our health, reduces stresses and strains, we look and feel good - but how do we know when we have it? What's The Alternative To Posture Exercises?If your habitual way of moving and holding yourself is causing your poor posture, it is these that have to change.It will take time to unlearn poor habits, after all, they take a lifetime to learn so they won't go without a fight. Have a go at my Body awareness test to check whether your habits have changed your concept of movement. If you didn't do too well on our test, don't worry few people do. Poor movement habits are practically universal in the adult population. Are You Sitting Comfortably?Because you probably spend long hours sitting it is important not to slump or sit by tightening the wrong muscles. Without moving see if you can become aware of the push that comes back from your chair in response to your body weight. Are you allowing the chair to support you? Have a look at the photograph below and decide which position would be the most beneficial to your back.
Your head weighs an average 5 kg and in the position on the left is pulling the body forward and down. This will lead to back muscles working to keep you upright that really do not need to be doing anything in this position. In the photograph on the right her head is sitting on top of the spine with its weight going directly down the spine into the pelvis and eventually the chair. She is balanced and does not need to involve any inappropriate muscles to keep her upright. Please note that this is not the traditional sitting up straight position. Her lower back is not tense (pulled in) and her chest is not thrust forward. See if you can let the chair push your spine and head upwards and let go of your shoulders and neck muscles. Sitting balanced at your desk will condition your back muscles to work appropriately and correct your back without the need for posture exercises.
Relearn poise and you can forget about your posture exercises Poise is the forgotten skill. If you can learn to regain poise your innate postural reflexes are able to function effectively. Your posture will take of itself. Are core stability exercises good for my posture? Core work has become a major focus in posture exercises, but we believe the body doesn't work in this way. Could concentrating on core stability destroy your natural coordination? A number of therapists are beginning to question the philosophy behind this method. Posture and lower back pain Lower back pain is a factor in poor posture. But what causes the other. Low back pain will change how you stand and sit, or did you postural habits lead to the pain? Could your posture exercises be making things worse? Take a look at my unique fitness programs My programs are designed to encourage efficient movement and correct posture. You will find no repetitive exercises that have nothing in common with natural, free movement. My procedures will develop your self-awareness that you can take into all your activities. Recommended Further ReadingBody Learningby Michael Gelb A best seller in the Alexander Technique world. If you can learn more about your body you can use it more efficiently and your posture will automatically improve. A great introduction to a fascinating subject. The Alexander Technique by Wilfred Barlow An excellent book by one of the techniques most prolific teachers. The effects of poor posture on health and the misconceptions surrounding posture are covered in depth.If you read this book you will never waste another minute doing posture exercises!  US visitors can order from the Amazon.com. UK visitors can order from the Amazon.co.uk.
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