Your last session on posture was related to understanding the idea of posture and what it means to you. The biggest take home was that if you had trouble changing your posture and if you felt ‘stuck’ then there was an underlying joint issue and stiffness preventing you from improving your posture. The first thing you started was back breathing.
Symptoms that your posture could be better
Neck and shoulder tension and even pain
You feel ‘stuck’
You do not feel as upright
Taking in a deep breath feels limited
Better posture is then less work, more efficient, and our strongest position
Your next step is to work on head and shoulder correction.
LET"S GET STARTED!
Lose 5 lbs in seconds! I love this exercise. When I watch myself in a mirror and I lift my head up, keeping it level, this causes postural muscles to work and support the neck. The added benefit is that you appear thinner! I call this exercise the Meerkat because that is what I think of when I try this exercise.
In addition to raising your head up from the vertex or top of your head or highest point check to see if your shoulders are tense and elevated. If they are then relax the shoulders at the same time.
You have just done the Meerkat! Do this as often as you can. If you do it once or twice it helps. If you do it frequently each day then it helps more!
Shoulder positioning or setting the scapula
The most efficient shoulder posture is like a tepee. The muscles in the neck and shoulders are balanced front to back. You are not only at your strongest but also your muscles are working the least. In Part 1 of the Posture Program we learned that our thumbs and the direction that they point tell us about our shoulder position. Finding this mid point of resting shoulder posture will cause the thumbs to point forward.
Stand in the middle of a doorway and reach up to the top. If the top of the door is too high then reach out as high as you can on the sides. Slide your hands down until your elbows touch your sides. This is the most important part, keep your shoulder blades where they are and straighten your elbows so that your arms are by your sides. Relax your shoulders onto your upper body. This is your best shoulder position! We call this ‘framing the door’.
Tip
When you stick out your thumbs they will be facing forward instead of inward.
You can get good at this and progress to self correction without a door frame as you learn where your shoulders need to rest.
Here is another doorway stretch that can help decrease tension to the front of your shoulder while strengthening your shoulder blade.
REMEMBER
Meerkat as you think about it. Eyes level, head up as tall as you can.
'Frame the door' Get your shoulders in their most relaxed position.
