Tips to improve your posture, part 2

How do you walk? Or sit? Rarely do we pay attention to the position of our body, especially specific parts.

How we position our feet matters because it influences our posture. In the first article, you learned tips to open your chest and strengthen your front and back. In this article, I’ll offer tips on positioning your feet, ribs, and head.

What are your feet doing?

Your feet are your foundation. They connect you to the Earth. They ground you. They provide a stable base for almost every movement.

Your feet have 26 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments! Amazing, right! Your feet are made to move and sense. But they are often stuffed in shoes or socks. This makes it difficult Do you ever walk around barefoot?

Do you notice what your feet do as you walk, stand, or sit? I think most of us don’t.

Try this. Walk around your house for a moment, then stop. Don’t move. Look at your feet.

• Do they face the same direction?

• Is only one turned out?

• Are they both turned out but at different angles?

It’s common for feet to turn out as you walk and then as you stand. It can be difficult to determine why this happens. Possibilities include a hip, knee, leg injury, muscle tightness, a sedentary lifestyle, or poor posture. Maybe even from wearing certain shoes.

Now face your toes forward. Depending on how much your feet turn out this can feel really weird.

Be conscious of what you do with your feet. As you walk, when you sit, when you stand. This matters because your feet affect everything above them.

• When you sit at a desk have both feet flat on the floor with the weight evenly distributed.

• Notice if you always shift your weight into the same leg when standing.

• Notice how certain shoes affect your feet.

Fix that forward head

When we hold our heads in front of our spine it places a lot of tension on the neck and upper back muscles (1). When it’s chronically held this way the effects trickle down the body.

It can lead to headaches, neck tension, shoulder discomfort, rounded shoulders, and a closed chest.

• When you’re looking down at something – a phone, tablet, even book, notice your head.

• When you’re driving, notice your head.

• If you wear glasses and lower your chin to look over the lens, notice your head.

Your head is probably in a forward head position. Sometimes it’s called “text head” or “tech neck.”

“Head ramping” is bringing the head back in a position on top of the spine. It also lengthens the neck. To do this, pull the back of your head towards the wall behind you and the top of your head towards the ceiling. This happens in one motion. Don’t use your mid-back to lift your head.

To see a clear demonstration of this, check out this video from Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and self-proclaimed movement nerd.

Keep the ribs down

You may think about your ribs even less than even your feet! It’s an area of the body we tend to ignore. When you “head ramp” it’s easy to let your low front ribs come forward. At least I know mine like to!

Don’t let those low front ribs jut forward. You’ll hinge at the mid-back.

Bring the low front ribs down. You can overdo it. If you do, your shoulders will start rounding, so watch that. Keep your head on your spine and those lower front ribs down.

Start paying attention to your ribs as you sit, stand, and even drive.

Combining all of these tips will likely feel weird. And perhaps overwhelming. That’s normal. Pick one and be hyper-focused on that.

Awareness is the first step. Action is next.

What will you choose to focus on? Comment below!

Sources:

1. The Physiology of the Joints. Volume 3. The Trunk and the Vertebral Column. (1975). Postgraduate Medical Journal, 51(599), 682–683.