Proper body alignment not only helps prevent pain and injury, but also can boost your confidence and mood. Improving your posture will likely take some time and conscious effort, but the feel-good benefits are worth it.
Being told to "stand up straight" probably seemed like a rite of passage in your teenage years, but those nagging adults were onto something. Good posture supports good health.
Proper body alignment can help prevent excess strain on your joints, muscles and spine — alleviating pain and reducing the likelihood of injury. As a bonus, correct posture can boost your productivity and mood, as well as help you use your muscles more efficiently. Improving your posture will likely take some time and conscious effort, but the feel-good benefits are worth it.
So what does proper posture look like? Use the "wall test" to find out:
Stand so that the back of your head, your shoulder blades and your buttocks touch the wall, and your heels are 2 to 4 inches from the wall.
Put a flat hand behind the small of your back. You should be able to just barely slide your hand between your lower back and the wall for a correct lower back curve.
If there's too much space behind your lower back, draw your bellybutton toward your spine. This flattens the curve in your back and gently brings your lower back closer to the wall.
If there's too little space behind your lower back, arch your back just enough so that your hand can slide behind you.
Walk away from the wall while holding a proper posture. Then return to the wall to check whether you kept a correct posture
Unfortunately, ideal posture is often the exception rather than the rule. Poor posture can affect you head to toe, contributing to a number of problems.
Back and neck pain
Headache
Knee, hip and foot pain
Shoulder pain and impingement
Jaw pain
Fatique and breathing problem