How many times were you told by your parents or teachers to “Stand up straight” or “Sit up straight” – and how often have you regretted not heeding that advice?
A recent article in The Sunday Times highlights how too much lolling around watching TV in lockdown and working from home has led to poor posture habits and a rise in demand for “neck corrector” products on Amazon – from oddly-shaped foam pillows that claim to correct “neck hump” through to uncomfortable-looking lumbar harnesses that vibrate to alert you if slouching!
Kate Hunt, the osteopath interviewed by The Sunday Times reporter, specialises in spinal problems caused by technology and says that “the influx of people citing spinal problems since Covid is ‘like a tidal wave’”.
The way we live our lives today encourages a forward position of our head. We walk with our head down, spend too much time looking down at our phones and when reading, and hold our shoulders to our ears when cold. All of these increase pressure on the neck and shoulder muscles and pulls on the lower back.
We just weren’t designed to be living this way.
The effects of hunching and slouching over
This forward position is also ageing visually and in time will cause degeneration of our intervertebral discs and early arthritis of the spinal bones. And that’s not all…
Research has proved that constant forward pressure is the main cause of headaches.
Bad posture puts unwanted strain on your upper and lower back.
Slumping can affect lung function and cause muscle fatigue.
Slouching over compresses your abdominal organs, including your digestive tract so that it’s harder for your body to digest food.
Kate Hunt stresses the need for people to work on correcting problems themselves rather than expecting a device to do so, and advises: “Save your money and go to a Pilates class instead.” Brilliant advice: my next course at Bishop Gilpin in Wimbledon (and online) will look at the importance of posture and spinal alignment whether standing, sitting or moving.
Pilates can help your posture
So often we simply grab a pain killer when, instead, some simple self-massage on the shoulders and neck using your hands and tennis balls can work wonders. Mobilisation of the neck and targeting and strengthening our upper back postural muscles also helps. Did you know that the cervical spine should be the most mobile part of the spine – as Joseph Pilates remarked, “If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old; if it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.”
On my next course, I will educate you on the anatomy of the spine and provide short exercises and simple tips using tennis balls to do at home and even at your desk. A few minutes of these a day along with regular Pilates classes can make a huge difference to your posture and overall well-being.
“Improve Your Posture” course dates
The course is run by me in person at Bishop Gilpin School. It is a 6-week course of one-hour lessons at £66 and early booking is advised.
Starts: Tuesday 18th April 2023 / Wednesday 19th April 2023
Ends: Tuesday 23rd May 2023/ Wednesday 24th May 2023
Class times: 6.30pm on Tuesdays, and 6.30pm or 7.45pm Wednesdays. Alternatively, why not join in via Zoom?
(Please bring a small towel and two tennis balls.)
To book or find out more, please click here
