How to Change your Posture

The best definition for posture is that it is an ATTITUDE. It is not just some position our physical body assumes. It is a position that our mind and emotions put us in. It is not a coincidence then that study after study shows how optimum digestion and other internal functions are directly related to good posture.

A postural breakthrough requires constant efforts in the direction of positive reinforcement of a specific position, attitude or movement that improves the way the body lives by placing it in its most efficient position for functioning. This can be learned by (1) recognizing the maladaptive patterns, (2) practicing new and improved patterns, and (3) constantly being aware of the attitudes and habits that bring the body back to the maladaptive patterns.

These inefficient patterns are a result of our lifestyle and cannot be changed without altering some thoughts and habits of our everyday routines. This means that we must be dissatisfied with our current state and direction of health and commit to a change for the better; otherwise our old habits will eventually take over and bring the body back to its “comfort zone.”

Posture is an attitude, and therefore cannot be changed without a new thought process. It is well known that people with multiple personalities have different postures and even medical conditions that go with each personality. This shows that we become what we think and believe.

You can shape yourself, or you can be shaped by bad habits.

Stress Management for Chronic Low Back Pain

In clinics and Dr.’s offices alike, it is all too common to see bouts of low back pain coincide with times of great stress. And this makes sense as stress is well known to increase muscle tension and decreases the body’s ability to handle normal activities, such as slouching, picking up a pencil, taking out the trash, and a host of other events that seem to be the last straw that breaks your back. A critical element for healing your low back pain is learning to relax the muscles and tissues surrounding it. The technique below is a great tool for relaxing the entire body and spine.

        A key element here is using your mind to reduce low back pain. Whether we like it or not, we cannot separate mind from body. The mind-body connection is always present and is either hurting or helping you at any given moment. This technique will arm you with a powerful and proven method that trains the mind to heal low back pain and any other area you wish to focus on.

      There is a well known fact about breathing; if you are stressed, your breathing is out of balance. The beauty of this is the opposite fact; if you are relaxed, your breathing is calm and follows a natural rhythm. So remember, as long as you are breathing naturally, it is impossible to be stressed! Proper breathing is proven to increase oxygen throughout the entire body, calm your nervous system and relax your muscles. No drugs. No tricks. Just breathing with a focus of being in the moment.

      It is recommended to read the following directions first into a tape recorder so you can listen to them and enhance your relaxation.

      This is just one of many relaxation techniques. Please remember it takes a journey filled with dedication, faith, consistency and discipline to change habits of stress and pain.

Relaxation Technique: SINKING DEEP INTO THE SEA

• Find a comfortable position that you can stay in for at least 10 minutes. It can be lying or sitting and you can use pillows and props to keep your spine straight and comfortable.
• Softly close your eyes and guide your attention inward. Note how the body feels and where you are storing tension right now.
• Smoothly, take a big breath and notice how the chest and abdomen gently move up and down with your breath. Continue observing your breath as you relax your neck and shoulders, and slowly sink deeper into your body.
• Now imagine you are at sea, and there is a big, noisy, dark storm all around you. You are bobbing in the ocean with giant waves and just your head is above the water. Nobody else is around. This storm, is life. It represents all of the chaos that surrounds you on a daily basis. Deadlines, traffic, arguments, bills, and more.
• Get back to your breath now, and settle into your breathing. Visualize sinking down into that ocean and under the water. Keeping your attention on your breath, observe how as you sink deeper you can still see the chaos above in the storm of life, but it is not so vivid anymore.
• You are becoming calmer as you sink deeper into the ocean and your body with every breath. The storm is still there, but you are observing it from a new place now. As you slowly sink to the deepest part of your body and the ocean, you find that it is totally peaceful and quiet. You can feel your heartbeat and are one with the natural rhythms of your body. You are aware of every cell in your body.
• You are now sitting at the bottom of the ocean, where your true self can be found. Looking in the far distance you can see the storm and chaos of life, but they do not seem so chaotic anymore. They are merely there, not affecting you any more than a storm on the other side of the globe.
• You now are in a place that empowers you to choose what affects you, and what doesn’t. Instead of reacting to life and letting it shape your every molecule, now you can shape yourself through awareness of the storm and where you stand in it. 
• Thinking of your body as the ocean, and the storm as life’s chaos, visualize the journey you just took to the center of yourself. With every breath you can sink deeper into yourself and away from the influence of outside distractions. Welcome home. This is where you will find all the answers to what makes you happy and healthy. 
• This is where you are truly you and the only thing that can influence your behavior is your own free will.

Low Back School: Lesson 2

Sitting and Low Back Pain

One of the biggest contributers to low back pain (LBP) is prolonged and repetitive sitting. Lesson 2 offers a simple remedy to prevent and improve LBP. Just follow these easy tips, stretches and movements to a life with much less pain and even increased energy from a more efficient body.

Meet the Chair Jockey

A chair jockey is someone who spends too much time sitting on a daily basis. Prolonged sitting causes “deloading” of the tissues, which occurs from lack of gravity stress on the body and results in a weakening of the stabilizing muscles. This deloading reduces the body’s ability to resist gravity during sports or simply standing, and works on the following principles;

 Sitting = non-weight bearing = poor muscle recruitment & posture = ↓ energy/productivity = ↑ injuries

 Standing = weight bearing = ↑ leg and spine strength = ↑ energy & mental capacity = ↓ pain & injuries

 The Chair Jockey Workout is designed to be simple and time efficient. It can be used throughout the day in the office or at home to keep the body’s stabilizing muscles strong and activated. This routine improves posture and reduces stress at the precise areas needed to reverse the harmful effects of sitting and repetitive movements, which add up at the end of the day and week and cause dull aches or even pain in the low back, neck, and shoulders. It is the best answer to a busy schedule of sitting and a life full of aches and pains.

It should take no more than 6 or 7 minutes each time and should be done in the order shown. They can be repeated throughout the day to break up the constant strain of non-gravity induced poor posture. These exercises are also ideal for traveling because they can be done in a hotel room without any equipment, although exercise tubing is good to have.

 Exercise Descriptions

• Hold all stretches for 20-30 seconds with relaxed breathing

 

 #1 – Squats

• Squats can be done with the arms pointing upward or straight in front of the chest. 
• Suck in the stomach, squat down, and stick the hips backwards as if sitting into a chair.
• Don’t let the knees go past the toes. 
• Move slowly and pause at the bottom, stretching the arms away from the body.
• Keep the shoulders relaxed and the head in-line with the spine (pointing downward)
• Repeat as many as time or effort permits. 

 

 #2 – Front Thigh Stretch

• This stretch can also be done with the back knee on the ground.
• Suck in the stomach and squeeze the buttocks on the side of the leg in back.
• Reach upward, don’t arch the low back, and slightly twist the torso away from the front leg.       

 

#3 – Chest Stretch

• Stand tall, stomach sucked in slightly, and relax the rest of the body.
• Squeeze the shoulder blades together and hold 5-10 seconds, continue breathing. Repeat 5-10 times.

 

A

 

B

#4 – Upper Spine Extension

 

•  Kneeling on a pad, suck in the stomach and brace the upper body with hands on knees. 
• Slouch forward to assume the rest position. 
• Keeping the lower back stationary and stable, use the vertical muscles along the spine to push the chest outward (extending the mid/upper back). 
• Keep the head in line with the spine. 
• Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 5-10 times.  

 

#5 – Toe Raises

• Using 1 or 2 legs, (reaching upward is optional), raise yourself up onto the ball of your foot and repeat up and down slowly 15-30 times.
• Keep the stomach sucked in and stay on the inside of the ball of the foot.     

 

 

 

 

#6 – Front Thigh Stretch

• See # 2, but use a chair.  

 

A 

 

B

 #7 – Push-up/Calve Stretch

• Starting in the calve stretch, try to push the heels into the floor and the chest towards the thighs.
• Keep the stomach sucked in with relaxed breathing.
• Transition into a push-up position (on knees or straight legs), and move up and down as slow as possible in order to work the back also.
• Do as many as time or effort permits.

   

#8 – Rotator Cuff Strengthening

• Tubing is optional, but optimal.
• Keeping the elbows at your side, start with the hands in front of the belly button and rotate the arms so that the fists go away from the body.
• Hold at the end point for a few seconds and repeat slowly 15-30 times.

 

      # 9 –  Shoulder blade squeezes

• Tubing is optional, but optimal.
• Palms can face up or down.
• Keeping the stomach sucked in with upright, yet relaxed posture, start with the arms in front of the chest and squeeze the shoulder blades together and bring the arms backwards, posture should not change.
• Hold at the end point for a few seconds and repeat 10-15 times slowly.

 

 

     #10 – One leg balance

• Keeping the hips level, stand on 1 leg for 30-60 seconds, progressing to eyes closed.
• Focus on good body and foot posture.

 

     #11 – Leg stretch

• This can be done facing (not shown) and or twisting away from the chair.
• Place the foot up on a chair, keep the spine upright and slightly lean towards the foot.
• Stretch the foot up and down to add a stretch to the calves.
• Keep the stomach sucked in and don’t slouch the low back.

 

 

     #12 – Spine/Back exercise

• Keeping the stomach sucked in without slouching the low back, squeeze both glutes and raise one leg.
• Hold the arms outward by squeezing the shoulder blades together.
• Keep the head in line with spine.
• Push the raised leg and arms out and away from the body. Hold for 15-30 seconds each side.

 

A

 

B

    #13 – Neck stretching and facial relaxation

• Sitting, gently tug on the back of the head in all directions searching for tight spots in the neck muscles.
• Hold each tight spot for 20-30 seconds and focus on breathing.
• The other hand can be used to massage the area being stretched.
• After the neck is stretched, massage the temples while making every possible facial expression in order to energize and relax tension in the head.
• Lastly, focus the eyes on something distant to relax them.

 

Tips for Sitting

1. ALWAYS use a lumbar support for the low back.
2. Shift position constantly to distribute stress to various areas.
3. When picking something off the floor or bending down, place one hand on a knee and slightly lift up the buttocks while maintain an arched low back.
4. Don’t twist. Always face whatever task is at hand by turning the body as a unit.
5. Don’t read papers that are flat on the desk. Prop them up so the head isn’t flexed all the way forward and down.
6. Have the keyboard and mouse at the same level as the elbows when they are naturally hanging at your side. Also keep them at a forearms distance away from your body so that no reaching occurs.
7. Use arm rests to take pressure off the low back.
8. Keep the monitor about 18 inches from your eyes and make sure lighting is sufficient so that they are more relaxed.
9. If you are on the phone a lot, support your “phone arm” with an elbow on the desk and switch sides often.

     10.  Posture is an attitude that creates a physical state. Be aware of deadlines and stress weighing down the body into poor posture. Use relaxed breathing and thoughts of what you are grateful for           to  improve posture and reduce stress.

     11.  Take frequent breaks to introduce movement to the body and keep its systems working efficiently, i.e. The Chair Jockey Workout.

     12.  Drink plenty of water.

     13.  Do the following exercises at the end of the day to reverse some of the damages caused by sitting.

Leg Elevation on Wall

•  Laying on a flat surface, scoot the buttocks as close as possible to a wall and prop the legs up.
• Lay in this position for 5-10 minutes to facilitate circulation of stagnant blood. 

 

 

Standing Wall Posture Exercise

• Standing with feet 3 inches from wall, keep the entire spine, back, and neck touching the wall by using the lower abdominals to “tuck in your tail”.
• Hold for 3 minutes in a natural manner.

 

 

Foam Roll Self-Myofascial Release for Runners, Cyclists, and YOU.

This routine is for anyone who uses their legs and wants to keep them injury free and strong. Ideally done post workout, these foam rolling exercises can be done first if the legs are really tight. Do 2-4 times per week for maximum benefits.

Foam Rolling the Hip

Posterior hip (the right hip in this pic) self-myofascial release (foam roll in red).
The more the left leg is bent and the more the person leans towards the crossed leg, the more intense the experience!
Roll around looking for tender spots, once you find one, stay on it and breeeaaathe it out.

 

Foam Rolling IT Band

IT band and lateral quad self-myofascial release (foam roll in red).
Roll up and down looking for tender spots, once you find one, stay on it and breeeaaathe it out.
Always roll with the most pressure towards the heart so you encourage the natural return of lactic acid and blood flow.
DON’T ROLL OVER THE KNEE JOINT.

 

Foam Rolling the Quads

Anterior Quad self-myofascial release (foam roll in red).
Roll up and down looking for tender spots, once you find one, stay on it and breeeaaathe it out.

 

Foam Rolling the Obliques

Lateral Obliques and Low Back self-myofascial release (foam roll in red).
Roll up and down looking for tender spots, once you find one, stay on it and breeeaaathe it out. 

DON’T ROLL INTO THE RIBS. STAY IN THE SOFT SPOTS.

Foam Rolling the Spine

SPINAL self-myofascial release (foam roll in red).
Roll up and down like you’re rolling out dough! Time your breath with the rolling so you don’t hold it.