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stress

Maintain Correct Posture

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What is correct posture?

Posture is the position you maintain – essentially how you hold your body. Dynamic posture is how you hold yourself when you are moving, like when you are walking, running or bend over to pick up something. Static posture is how you hold yourself when you are not moving, like when you are standing, sitting, or sleeping.

You have correct posture when your position creates the least amount of strain on supporting muscles, ligaments and joints whilst standing, sitting, lying down or doing any other activity. The key to correct posture is the position of your spine. Your spine has three natural curves – at your neck, mid back, and low back. Correct posture should maintain these curves, but not increase them. Your head should be above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulder should be over the hips.

Correct posture not so common

As kids we are often taught and reminded of the importance of correct posture, however as we age we are less mindful of our posture (low postural awareness). Unfortunately, we live in a forward-leaning society – spending much of our time sitting – either in the car, on the train, at work on our desks all day, at school, on the couch or glued to our smartphones. The result being that most of us have poor or incorrect posture.

Why is having correct posture important?

Correct posture…

*Decreases your chance of injury, muscle pain and other problems – by keeping your bones and joints in proper alignment, decreasing joint compression and allowing you to use your muscles more efficiently. This prevents muscle aches/strain and fatigue/overuse and is essential for avoiding neck, back and shoulder pain including headaches, as well as arthritis, spinal/disk problems and constricted blood vessels and nerves, as well as tendonitis and bone spurs. Good posture also increases your balance and decreases your chance of falling.

*Increases oxygen and helps all bodily systems to operate smoothly – breath is life, and good posture helps to open the airways and ensure proper breathing. Proper breathing allows enhanced oxygen flow to the nervous system, organs and other tissues, so that they all function effectively.

*Decreases stress and better mood – poor posture creates unnecessary stress and strains your body including your spine, which can make you feel heavy, achy, tired and irritable. It also decreases your digestion which is linked to your mood – did you know that more endorphins can be released from your gut than your brain? All of these things combined often lead to increased stress, anxiety and depression. Good posture on the other hand, stimulates physiological arousal, such as a spike in blood pressure, and triggers a coping response to stress. The result is increased resilience and better mood. This is common sense really, given that the body follows the mind, and the mind follows the body. Try it now – adopt a depressed mind-state by thinking of something that gets you down, and see what happens to your body. Now do the opposite with a super excited mind-state – what happens? Your body follows your mind, so you go from a closed posture to an open one. Next time you want to kick your negative mood, start with fixing your posture first.

*Helps you look and feel good – maintaining good posture helps increase your physical appearance because by avoiding slouching, you look taller, slimmer and stronger. The result being a more attractive, more comfortable and more confident you.

How can you improve your posture?

Here are a few of the best ways to improve your posture:

*Stay active: All types of exercise generally help to improve posture, but some are especially beneficial. This includes exercise such as weight training, yoga, pilates, as well as any other movement which focuses on body awareness. Cardiovascular exercise such as rowing and swimming can also be beneficial. Regardless of what type of exercise you do, always ensure to include exercises which strengthen your core (muscles around your back, abdomen, and pelvis) as these play an essential role in the maintenance of good posture.

*Stretch more: This goes hand in hand with staying active, but stretching is of paramount importance when it comes to having great posture. Try to stretch for at least 5-10 minutes per day or more, on most days of the week. If you do activities such as yoga and pilates, stretching is already built in. It’s also a good idea to get a massage every so often, because sometimes no amount of stretching can release locked up or worn out muscles. Besides, it’s wonderful for total body rejuvenation including mental stress release too.

*Maintain a healthy weight: Excess fat can weaken your abdominal muscles, cause problems for your pelvis and spine, and contribute to low back pain, sore hips, knees and anything else. All of these can hurt your posture, so if you are overweight, then losing weight may be the best thing you can do to fix your posture.

*Sleep on your side: The best position to sleep on is usually on your side, with a well-supported pillow for your head, and an additional pillow down by your side to support the leg not resting on the mattress. Not only is it better for your posture, but it is also better for your breathing and digestion too – particularly if you lie on your left side. Sleeping on your back is not advised, however sleeping on your stomach does the most damage to your posture – putting strain on the muscles of the head, neck, jaw and can also put out your lower back and pelvis.

*Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes: High heels, can tighten your calves, throw off your balance and force you to change your gait/walk differently. This puts more stress on your muscles and can damage your posture.

*Be mindful of your posture: Be mindful of your posture during everyday activities, like watching television, eating dinner, or walking. The more aware of your posture you are, the more quickly it improves.

*Sit Properly: Some things we can do to improve the way we sit include:

Don’t sit for too long – it’s called the 20-10 rule… Sit for 20min, stand for 8min and walk for 2. You can also gently stretch your muscles to help relieve muscle tension at the same time.
Make sure that your feet touch the floor – if this is not possible, use a footrest.
Don’t cross your legs – instead, keep your feet on the floor, with your ankles in front of your knees.
Make sure that your back is fully supported – use a back pillow or other back support if your chair does not have a backrest that can support your lower back’s curve (either a small rolled up towel, or commercial product).
Change the way you sit – a great way to do this throughout the day, is to try to alternate your chair with a fit-ball to activate your core/postural muscles and prevent them from wasting away. This could be for an hour in the morning and then again in the afternoon. You can also perform simple strength movements like balancing on one leg and figures 8’s as you sit. You just need to ensure that you choose the right size ball so that your thighs and hips are parallel to the floor or that your hips are slightly higher (<145cm tall = 45cm ball, 140-165cm = 55cm ball, 165-195cm = 65cm ball, >195cm = 85cm ball).
Relax your shoulders – instead of rounding your shoulders, gently pull them back, whilst at the same time keeping them relaxed/depressed.
Keep your elbows close to your body – they should be bent between 90 and 120 degrees.
Make sure that your thighs and hips are supported – you should have a well-padded seat, and your thighs and hips should be parallel to the floor. You may need a footrest to keep your hips and knees level.
Setup your computer screen correctly – instead of adjusting your posture to suit the position of our computer screen, adjust the screen itself so that the centre of it sits at eye-level.

*Improve the way you stand:

Stand up straight and tall – keep your shoulders back but relaxed with your head level.
Pull your stomach in – activate your core and let your arms hang down naturally by your sides.
Put slightly more weight on the balls of your feet – rather than on your heels, whilst ensuring that your knees don’t buckle in/no knock-knees.
Keep your feet about shoulder width apart – and facing straight ahead to avoid internally or externally rotating the hips.
When using a standing desk – position the screen so that the centre of it is at eye-level just like sitting posture.

Where to get help

If you need further help with achieving better posture, then consult your local Personal Trainer, Exercise Scientist/Physiologist, Osteopath, Physiotherapist or Chiropractor. Things like the Alexander Technique are also excellent, otherwise you can speak to your Doctor who can put you into contact with someone who can help.

Q.Do you have poor posture and if so, then what things will you start doing to improve it?

Rob

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July 20, 2018 0 comment

Be Grateful

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What does being grateful really mean?

Gratitude is the feeling we have when we experience and reflect upon something that is of value to us. This could be something which is given to us or simply a feeling which spontaneously rises in our heart when we recognise the love and blessings in our life.

Why is it important to be grateful?

Gratitude is the basis of everything. Being grateful…

*Reduces Dis-Stress/Anxiety:

All emotions stem from either love or fear. Gratitude or appreciation is of the same vibration as love, therefore when you feel grateful it makes it harder to feel distress, anxiety or any other negative emotion. Try it; think of a stressor in your life, and just sit with it for a moment. Notice what this feels like in your mind and in your body. Now think of something which you are really grateful for, and completely focus your attention upon it. Notice the shift not only in your thinking, but also in how you feel. In this way, gratitude helps further to create a more positive mindset, meaning that you are more likely to seek solutions and opportunities as opposed to giving up.

*Makes you happier:

Many of us have been led to believe that when you are happy then you are grateful. However if this were to be the case, then why are there so many people who have everything that it would take to be happy, but they are not happy? And why are there people who have very little or much misfortune, but whom radiate happiness. Why? Because they are grateful. If you’ve been to some 3^rd world countries you would have seen people with very little with glowing smiles on their faces. So it is not happiness that makes us grateful, its gratefulness that makes us happy. If you want to be happy in life, then you must be grateful.

*Helps you to live life to the fullest:

When we don’t feel grateful, through our dissatisfaction we close off to and miss out on all of the good things life has to offer. In contrast, when we open our hearts and become more grateful, then we are able to experience all of the joy and gifts available to us in each and every moment, and in this way we are able to live our life to the fullest.

*Helps you to focus on what’s really important:

‘To be content with what we possess is the greatest and most secure of riches.’ Marcus Tullius Cicero

The more you practice gratitude, the more ‘content’ you become and the more you come to understand that what you really need to fulfil yourself has very little to do with the external world. In this way, gratitude helps to free yourself from having to be, do or have anything in particular – and with it much of the stress caused by chasing all things external. This doesn’t mean that you will sell all of your possessions and shift to Byron Bay. It simply means that instead of being fixated on and ‘wanting’ all of the ‘unnecessary stuff,’ you will instead by your very nature, find yourself desiring to live a much ‘simpler’ life. A life which allows more time and energy to adopt positive lifestyle behaviours, and restore balance and well-being.

*Helps you to be the best version of yourself:

Gratitude helps to deepen the connection with your authentic self by helping you to like and even love yourself more. This allows you to become more focused, more calm, more resilient, more motivated, more compassionate and much more. In short, gratitude helps you to become the best version of yourself.

How do we become more grateful?

*Don’t compare yourself with others – Your journey is your own:

In today’s consumer culture, it’s easy to compare ourselves with others whom we think have more than ourselves, which if we permit can leave us feeling less grateful and pretty low. Social media has taken this to another level, with numerous applications becoming an omnipresent force of comparison. The result being less gratitude and decreased happiness. What’s important to realise is that what most people post on social media is often only the best parts of their life, and not the chaotic stuff that goes on behind the scenes. No one’s life is ever really perfect. Hence the name ‘Fakebook.’

‘Your perspective on gratitude needs to come from an awakened heart that beats to the drum of your experience. When this happens you will be overwhelmed with all of your blessings.’ Anna Greco

It’s also important not to compare yourself against anyone or anything else, because your life and your journey is unique to you. It may seem that others may have more to be grateful for and sometimes they do, but that is their journey, not yours. We each have according to our own dharma, our path, and our choices, and the more we focus on our own journey instead of everyone else’s, the more blessings we can be thankful for.

It’s also useful to turn on the news once in a while to remind yourself of just how fortunate you really are compared too much of the world. There are always people out there with less than you, which is another reason to count your blessings. Which takes me on to the next point;

*Focus on what you do have:

The reality is that most of us have so much to be grateful for, much of which we often don’t appreciate until we lose them. So focus on what you do have, including your senses – your ability to hear, see, touch, taste, and feel. For your ability to walk, talk, love, laugh, play. For the fact that you live in Australia and not North Korea or Syria, for your freedom, your ability to travel, your education, your job, your shower this morning, your bed, your food, clean water, fresh air, your clothes, your heater, the internet, for electricity – much of the world lives in darkness, for your friends and family, your pets, the earth, all of the amazing animals, and so much more.

Essentially for life itself, because life truly is a gift. And this is the real secret. Once you acknowledge that life really is so precious, then you automatically become grateful for your ability to experience life itself and everything in it. So be grateful, and celebrate life every day, not just on your birthday because every moment is precious.

*Look after your mind and your body:

Gratitude first and foremost starts with you, meaning that if you feel good about yourself, then you will feel good about life. In order to feel grateful, you need to really look after yourself by engaging in positive lifestyle behaviours such as regular exercise, healthy eating, sufficient sleep, and everything else I talk about in this blogspace. If you don’t do one of these things, then it is easy to fall out of balance, and lose gratitude.

*Remind yourself to be grateful:

Simply become aware of, and remind yourself of even one thing in your life which you are grateful for. You can find more things to be grateful for once you get into this habit.

You can write this down in a journal, or on a wall calendar where you will see it. By the end of the month you will see that you have much to be grateful for. Or if you prefer not to write it down then just say it to yourself when you’re in the shower or when you go to bed. It’s a good idea to vocalise your gratitude as it helps those around us become more grateful too.

*Change your language:

The whole idea here is to infuse everything you say with a deep sense of Gratitude instead of speaking from a place of compulsion. And we can do this by simply reframing the things we often say. For example, ‘I have to go to the gym’ (burden) ‘I get to go to the gym’ (privilege). Or ‘I have to go to work’ vs ‘I get to go to work.’

*Smile:

We smile when we are content and happy with our situation – the more we smile the more grateful we become. Don’t underestimate the power of a smile.

*Always look for the opportunities:

Life can be really hard and even unfair sometimes, and when this happens it can be difficult to feel grateful. This is ok, because we cannot be grateful for everything, including things like violence or exploitation. Instead, what we need to do when we are confronted with things which are very difficult, is to rise to this occasion and respond to the opportunity which is given to us in that given moment. And we can rise to it by often learning something which is sometimes painful. To learn, to suffer, to stand up, all of these are opportunities that are given to us and the more we avail ourselves to these opportunities, the more we are able to make something out of life. Simply open your heart do whatever the opportunity invites you to do – which mostly is the opportunity to enjoy life. This is the real challenge for each of us – to find the opportunities that exist in the present moment, instead of being dragged back into the past and becoming a victim. This is a cup half-full mentality which is not only a key towards remaining grateful, but it’s also the key to being more resilient too.

Gratitude has a positive effect on every area of your life. Don’t wait to count your blessings for if you do you will miss them and you will miss the present that is given to you in every moment of this journey called life. Instead make the time to stop and smell the roses, and be grateful for all that you have in your life each and every day.

What are you most grateful for in your life and why?

Robert

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April 20, 2018 4 comments