posture

[anotheranon]

I have lousy posture.

This isn't news, but the effects of long term slouching/hunching became abundantly clear to me while watching my latest fencing footage. If I'm not leaning into my lunges I'm hunching in preparation, and more than anything else on screen it makes me wince.

It made me realize that this is one of the key problems with my footwork - I can't make committed lunges if I'm off balance and can't fully extend with rounded shoulders. Recovery is harder as well because my torso is tilted forward. No wonder I loose my footing so easily!

I've long realized that slouchy teenagerdom followed in later life by 8+ hours a day in front of a computer screen has detrimental effects, but this bothers me more because it's affecting my ability to do something! To remedy this I'm making a concerted effort to sit up straight - shoulders down, butt on the edge of my chair, head upright (I should be able to feel the back of my collar).

My lower back is having to pick up the slack and I'm sure I'm tossing my head too far back, but it will feel natural in time if I can just remember to keep up with it.

Comments

[glitter-femme.livejournal.com]

If you get massage to help -- and it can be very helpful, releasing some of the restricted areas that are keeping you hunched over so you can actually get your shoulders where you want them to be, which makes it easier to remember to keep them there -- make sure to ask your therapist to work on your pecs, especially pec minor. Lots of hunched posture comes from tightness there pulling you forward.

Another thing I've found that really helps is moving my computer monitor up so that I can't see it comfortably when I'm hunched over (I do this with my rearview mirror, too, when I'll be driving a lot.) Then I have to remember to keep sitting back up, rather than gradually leaning further and further in toward my monitor to the detriment of my posture.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tips! I don't think it's likely I can get a massage anytime soon, but if I can I'll keep it in mind.

Moving the computer monitor and rearview mirror so that I have to sit up straight are both good ideas. I have more control over my home computer than the one at work (grr), and I'm going to adjust my car mirror as well.

[shemhazai.livejournal.com]

There is actually a soft brace you can use to improve your posture...basically two loops that go around your shoulders and meet at the center of your back. I had to wear one as a teenager for a while to ward off the worst aspects of scoliosis. :P

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

This sounds like a far more sensible and less intrusive solution than what I'd been considering - a corset from my knees to my nose :P

In all seriousness, I was aware of such braces but really didn't want to get one. The one hockeycat links to downthread looks like one that would be easy to wear over clothing as well as under it - rather like one of those back support things that Home Depot salespeople only use when they are lifting something. I think it might be time for me to reconsider :/

[hockeycat.livejournal.com]

Similar to shemhazai's suggestion, consider something like this. It's weighted so that it helps pull the shoulders back to where they should be. I've considered getting/making one. I know at work I'm usually pretty good about not slouching, but when I really get working on quilts, my posture is horrible, and I pay for it later.

Now that I'm pregnant, and will (hopefully) be spending even more time sewing in the coming months, I'm seriously considering making something like that to remind me to keep my shoulders back & up.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link :) And if I somehow missed your announcement earlier - congratulations!

[redactrice.livejournal.com]

Something I've found very helpful for my posture is yoga. If you take an introductory clase, they'll teach you proper, centered alignment. After a while, it becomes easier to remember to maintain it, even when you're just sitting or standing. Yoga's good for building core strength and flexibility, too.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I've been doing the odd posture here and there for my lower back - looks like it's time to work higher up as well!