Contestant #1: Human Condition for $400 please.
Alex: What causes back pain and fatigue, can make you look 10 lbs. heavier, and your mom constantly nagged you about?
Returning Champ: What is your posture.
Seriously, mom's bang on with all her nagging. Great posture makes you look longer, leaner, and in charge of everything. It makes you feel better too - by opening up your airways so you can take in more oxygen, and by allowing your skeleton to support your muscles (instead of the other way around).
So quit wet-noodling your way through the day and make some simple adjustments.
STAND UP, right now, and try this:
- Plant your feet on the ground, directly under your hips, keeping your knees straight but not locked.
- Pull your navel in and up, keeping your pelvis vertical (a tilted pelvis gives you an instant pot belly and big butt).
- Position your shoulders over your hips and your ears over your shoulders. Relax. Your shoulders and ears should not be touching - keep your neck long and shoulders down.
- Look straight ahead, keeping your chin level.
This is what perfect posture feels like.
Maintain this position when you walk, but pull your ribcage up out of your hips for a more fluid gait that makes your legs look more gazelle and less hippo.
SIT BACK DOWN, keeping your spine stacked, and do this:
- Plant your feet on the ground (crossing your legs creates a weight imbalance that strains the lower back).
- Scoot to the back of the chair (use a rolled towel to support your lower back if necessary).
- Push your chair in close enough that you don't have to lean forward to reach your desk stuff (leaning forward leads to slouching, which ruins your stack).
This seated posture also applies to driving, so adjust your car seat until you can reach everything without fully extending your arms and legs.
Feel free to slouch on the couch - very cushy surfaces can be manipulated to provide support as needed (you knew there was a reason for the 25 throw pillows).
Check in with yourself throughout the day to keep from slipping back into old (bad) habits. Soon, good posture will be second nature and strangers will begin asking you whether you're a model or a ballerina.
You'll feel like you've won the daily double.
