Six Exercises to Improve Your Posture Effectively
Do you want to improve your posture? Take a look at these six exercises to improve your posture effectively.
Do you find yourself slouching at your desk or hunching over your phone for hours on end? Poor posture can lead to aches, back pains, and even long-term health issues.
But don't worry, it's never too late to start working on your posture! In this article, we will introduce you to six effective exercises that can help you improve your posture and maintain a healthy alignment.
These exercises are simple, easy to do, and can be incorporated into your daily routine to help you stand taller, feel more confident, and prevent posture-related discomfort.
So, let's dive in and learn how you can achieve better posture through targeted exercises that can be done at home or in the gym!
1. What are the benefits of good posture?
It is difficult to pinpoint the most important benefits of good posture, there are many. Starting from the slim body and amazing radiance and moving on to what is invisible on the surface - improving the function of a large chat of our organs.
Let's summarise the three most important benefits of improving posture in my opinion and my practice, and then we will get to the six exercises to improve your posture effectively.
1.1. The organs correctly occupy their position in the defined quadrant
Perhaps the greatest benefit of maintaining proper posture is the release of intra-abdominal tension that builds up from misaligned chest and pelvis.
As a result, the organs break their proper functioning, and the additional pressure that results from pressing the chest inward and downward (as in kyphosis) acts as a press on them.
This extra pressure on them interferes with the proper function of the organs and can lead to a number of problems such as reflux, indigestion or reduced inhaling capacity of the lungs.
Regular practice of postural fixation exercises will lead to a rapid release of pressure, and the result can be seen immediately after or during the practice.
The swelling of the abdomen decreases significantly, the initial restriction in the chest that is felt during inhalation begins to decrease, and the amount of air that fills the lungs increases. The oxygen-saturated body begins to expel accumulated toxins, energise and activate.
1.2. You get stronger and taller
By doing these six exercises to improve your posture, you will also get stronger and taller.
Did you know that by stretching your spine and relaxing your intervertebral discs, you can regain up to two inches of height, and you can almost double those numbers by aligning your pelvis and chest with your spine and pulling your head up slightly and stretching your neck.
Yes, it really is possible to regain up to five centimetres of your height just by correcting your posture.
When the weight is incorrectly distributed between the anterior and posterior chain of muscles or as a result of prolonged sitting or standing, the discs between the spinal vertebrae, which are composed of soft connective tissue and play the role of shock absorbers, are most often slightly pressed at the workplace.
When pressed, they flatten, the spine loses part of its mobility, and the body up to two centimetres. Well, do you want them back?
Another interesting fact is that when the body takes a correct position, the muscles are activated, especially in the waist, because that is where the balancing muscles are located, without which we would not be able to stand up, bend or lean to the side, etc.
The hips and glutes will also activate with correct position, as well as the calves and tibialis.
1.3. Improves self-esteem
By doing these six exercises to improve your posture, you will also boost your self-esteem.
Undoubtedly, as the physical condition improves, so does the emotional condition, as well as the way we perceive ourselves. This is due not only to the correction itself, but also to the self-confidence we develop in the process of work.
Feeling that we have the power to change our bodies and even our perceptions of our personal boundaries is what actually has the biggest impact on self-esteem.
Understanding that everything is in your hands and that almost nothing is impossible is part of Corrective Gymnastics - a method of restoring correct posture by understanding the functions of the musculoskeletal system, breathing and the connection between our mental and physical selves.
2. Six exercises to improve your posture
2.1. Relaxing the torso down
First on our list of the six exercises to improve posture is relaxing the torso down.
Stand straight with your feet slightly shoulder-width apart and your feet pointed forward. Take a deep breath and while exhaling bring your chin to the upper part of the chest, trying to touch it to them. Inhale deeply again and draw a mental line from this point to the floor that divides the whole body into two equal halves.
Exhaling, begin to slide your chin down the line you just drew as if you were running it on rails. The spine is rounded and slowly begins to stretch. Let the arms, head and entire upper body hang down.
Hold for three deep breaths. Bend your knees and slowly, through a rounded back, begin to lift, finally detaching the chin from the chest and lifting the head. Repeat five times.
2.2. Mountain
Our list of the six exercises to improve posture is called the mountain.
Stand on the mat in a knee support with straight arms, the so-called crawling position. Place your palms under your shoulders and shoulder-width apart. Place the knees below the hip joints and slightly below their width.
From this position, point the coccyx up with a feeling of twisting strongly in the hamstrings. Lift your knees off the floor and push your body up to extend them. At the same time, tighten the abdominal muscles, open the chest and direct it in the direction of the hips as if you want to stick the abdomen to them.
Shoulders are active and assist in stretching. The shape of the body resembles a mountain peak. Hold the position for five deep breaths and slowly return to the starting position. Repeat three times.
2.3. Shoulder bridge
Shoulder bridge is third on our list of six exercises to improve posture.
Lie on the mat or rug on your back. Bend the legs at the knees and place the feet about a foot apart from the pelvis. Lift your pelvis off the floor and point it up.
Tighten your glutes, hips and lower back and rotate your tailbone in and up so that your body from shoulders to knees is in a straight line. Be careful when pushing the body up, a common mistake is to pull the body up from the abdomen and not from the pelvis, which can lead to unwanted strain on the lower back.
Continue to contract your abs and keep your body in a straight line. Place the hands under the body and hold the palms by interlacing the fingers. Place the shoulders under the body as well, so that the spine at the top does not touch the floor either.
Hold this position for five deep breaths and in reverse order return the body to the starting position. Repeat two more times.
2.4. A mermaid
To continue with our list of six exercises to improve your posture, we have the mermaid.
Lie face down on the mat. Place the palms on the sides of the chest with the fingers pointing forward. Squeeze your glutes and thighs inward to bring your pubic bone and thighs firmly into the floor.
Tighten your glutes and lower back and lift your legs up until you lift your knees off the mat. Hold the position. Take a deep breath. Exhaling with the help of the hands, push the upper part of the body up until the feet touch the floor.
The position of the head remains unchanged, and the gaze is directed forward and diagonally downward. Bring your chin to your chest and pull yourself back into child's pose through a rounded back.
Take two deep belly breaths and slide forward and down the mat until you are face down on it. Start the exercise over and do it four more times.
2.5. Plank
Stand in a kneeling position with straight arms on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and slightly round your upper back at your shoulder blades. Spread your legs and step on your toes. Maintaining this position, tighten the buttocks and hips and rotate the tailbone inward.
The body occupies a straight line from the ankles to the top of the head. It feels like the glutes are pushing in and down and the abs are pushing in and up to keep the body perfectly straight. The head remains a natural extension of the body, i.e. we do not look in the direction of the toes as well as forward and up.
The gaze falls two feet in front of the palms. Hold this position for forty seconds and relax down to the floor. Take a short rest and do another rep.
2.6. Ball
Last on our list of six exercises to improve posture is the ball.
Sit on the mat with your knees bent. Place your feet close to your buttock and lift them slightly to stand on your toes. This will help to further stretch the glutes and back muscles. Place the palms under the knees, arch the back and bend the head down, bringing the chin closer to the upper part of the chest.
The arm stays away from the knees to avoid injury during the exercise, and the eyes stay open to maintain orientation in space. Take a deep breath and fill your belly with air.
Exhaling, relax the body back and roll to the upper back at the base of the shoulder blades and no further than the edge of the shoulder blades. Breathe in deeply and, exhaling, return the body by rolling it to the starting position. Do ten repetitions.
3. How long does it take to correct posture?
Before answering this question I will clarify that we need to be aware of what is "incorrect" posture and what is "contortion".
Incorrect posture is usually the result of bad movement habits, and in a large percentage of distortions are congenital or acquired as a result of an accident.
Improper posture is subject to correction through various exercises and practices, while in case of distortion or disease of the musculoskeletal system, a specific exercise plan is applied that can favour the condition, but not completely neutralise it.
Posture correction is not a temporary solution to a problem, but an opportunity to completely restore the body. This means that taking care of our posture should last a lifetime, but we still need to start this period if it did not exist in our life until recently.
It is difficult to talk about time, achievements or make promises in such a case, but we can indicate an indicative period for restoring the anatomical position of the main skeletal structures and activating the muscles in depth.
Achieving this recovery can take anywhere from six months to several years, and this time depends on the length of time the incorrect posture has been held and how regularly the practices are carried out.
In this period, bad movement habits are eradicated, the sitting position in everyday life is corrected, the way we walk, even the way we breathe and turn all this into a way of life. Thus undoubtedly the practices become something that we will do daily without even suspecting it.
4. What age is too late to fix your posture?
It is a misconception that after a certain age the way we sit, stand or walk cannot be improved and today's practice shows it.
There are increasing cases of people over sixty years of age who have sought the advice of a specialist and started a physical program with exercises to improve the general condition of the body by correcting their posture.
Those who, as they grow older, realise the need to take care of their joints, muscles and ligaments and maintain body tone for the rest of their lives.
These practices have a rejuvenating effect on the body and mind, and the results really prove it. In recent years, children whose parents have noticed a need for correction of gait or sitting position, which are among the most common postural changes that adolescents acquire, have been among the frequent visitors to good posture programs or physical therapy offices.
Any age is suitable to take the path to a healthy body and good posture. There are no limits and that's the best. The exercises are easy to perform and are very close to the natural movements we perform in our daily lives, which further motivates the practitioners.
Age, gender, physical condition or weight are not obstacles in the implementation of the complexes, as they can be adapted to the individual characteristics and needs of the practitioner.
There are programs for adults, children, pregnant, overweight people, as well as specialised ones such as joint gymnastics, self-massage, programs with complexes of different sizes of balls and much more to provide the best restoration of the natural position of the body.
5. Conclusion
In times of modernization and "easier" way of life, work, communication, the body needs movement more than ever. Six out of ten adults in developed countries complain of pain, discomfort or limited movement in muscles or joints.
Not being able to perform our daily physical duties is becoming a major problem these days and we are not even talking about our desire to exercise or have beautiful bodies anymore. We want to have a fulfilling life.
And this is where the need for posture correction practices comes into play. It doesn't matter whether you choose Yoga, Pilates, Callanetics, Corrective Gymnastics or a Mobility program, each practice will be beneficial to you.
Before long, you will feel your body healthy, strong and energised not only physically, but also mentally. So, start doing these six exercises to improve your posture effectively.
If you want to improve your posture in 30 days, you can also check this article.