Posture

Today I am going to tackle a subject that I have been mulling over for months now. It’s a topic that has been ingrained in us by Mothers and Grandmothers everywhere. We are told “keep your shoulders back!” and “stand up straight!” but is posture really as important as we are led to believe?
 
I get clients everyday that come to me blaming the pain they are experiencing on their "bad posture". They say this almost in an ashamed manner, as if they deserve their pain because they caused it with their slouching, lopsided sitting, and inability to walk with a book balancing on the top of their head all day. 
 
I want to call BS on this socially common phrase of "I have bad posture".

First of all posture is more complex than a person not having the willpower to keep their shoulders back. Posture is deeply ingrained into our everyday lives and has probably been developing since you were a child. It is a collection of compensation patterns, stabilizing reflexes, and physical manifestations of your emotional comfort zone.

As a movement therapist, I deal with the musculoskeletal problems associated with posture, however the emotional components shouldn't be ignored. I believe the body feels and functions at it's best when it's moving.

Anybody who has leaned one way for a prolonged period of time, knows that the body doesn't like to sit still for too long. Therefore being in a hunched position at a computer for 8 hours will take it's toll on how your neck, shoulders, and low back feel at the end of your day. This conundrum however is a lot of times unavoidable. A lot of us have to work at a desk, which is not the most beneficial position for our bodies. You aren't choosing to be lazy causing this strain on your back, it's just something that we have to do. This is a strain that we put on our bodies because we are living life.

This is not a posture problem!

With NKT and other movement techniques, I help people feel more comfortable in their posture everyday. Clearing up compensation patterns allows the body to be positioned comfortably and these "posture problems" will clear up on their own.

So, what does all this mean for you?

1) Don't feel guilty about your so called "bad posture". We are all on a journey towards good, pain free movement. This journey doesn't happen over night!
2) You haven't been able to "fix" your posture by sheer will? So what? Those patterns are there for a reason! It is very difficult and in some cases close to impossible to fix your resting position by sheer force! How about finding out why you are most comfortable hunched forward and working with your body instead of against it!?
3) My biggest goal is to help my clients move comfortably and pain free, this arbitrary ideal we call posture may not be as important as our Grandmas told us.