> Fitness > Posture

You take a final look in the mirror before leaving for your morning jog. Rounded shoulders droop back at you. You ask, “Why?” You always sat up straight when told, remained physically active, and even tried to eat healthy–most of the time.

Before you were a twinkle in your parents’ eyes, your genetic makeup was being determined. Since gene expression is affected by environment, your parents’ phenotype (lifestyle) played a significant role in your postural development, starting from conception.

Regardless of your individual starting point, you can change your postural track record. Proper development and realignment of the postural system can largely be determined by making healthy, stress-reducing choices such as whole-body cleansing, adequate nutrition, and appropriate exercise.

Detoxify

Generations of environmental stressors from polluted air, soil, and water leave our bodies compromised by an accumulation of toxins acquired throughout life and which may have been passed along to us in utero, through the umbilical cord.

So how can we support the kidney and liver in processing and eliminating stored toxins?
A power-packed regimen to help the body heal itself would include energy medicine (such as electrical acupuncture); daily high-potency shakes and supplements for detoxification; infrared saunas; deep sea salt baths; lymphatic massage; and appropriate and consistent exercise.

Doctors and health care practitioners with expertise in acupuncture, applied kinesiology, cranial osteo-pathy, nutritional and exercise science, and massage, are valuable resources during the successful acquisition of your health goals.

Eat Well

Once you’ve completed an effective cleansing program, your body should be better equipped to accept, assimilate, and utilize the health-giving nutrients from foods and supplements.

As you’ve heard countless times already, “Eat your greens!” They are laden with highly absorbable minerals, especially calcium and magnesium. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, rich in indole-3-carbinol, will help you avoid bad posture stemming from hormonal imbalances. A good multivitamin/mineral, along with a high-quality omega-3 oil (EPA/DHA), is also strongly recommended.

Exercise

Correct upright posture also depends on proper functioning of three primary sensory systems: vestibular for balance, visual for navigation, and proprioceptive (sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body) for body awareness in space.

Sitting for too long at school desks or craning necks forward to peer at laptops alters perception. In time, compensated movement patterns emerge that lead to compensated postures, such as rounded shoulders.

To regain and maintain the symmetry our bodies once held as young children, work toward strengthening the small postural muscles. Exercises that provide work without movement, such as the wall-sit exercise–similar to squats but with a wall used as support–should be the cornerstone of your physical activity program.

Ramping up your daily routine with exercises that take you from lying, to kneeling, to sitting, and finally to standing, will gradually increase the demand placed on your postural muscles and provide you with quick and lasting results.

Regardless of your current standing in life–posturally speaking–don’t panic! You now know that what you see is not necessarily what you get. Follow this basic posture plan and you’ll once again look forward to your morning reflection.

Tara McEachern, BSc Kin, is a clinical kinesiologist practising at the Centre for HANDLE and Complementary Therapies in Oakville, Ontario.

Source: alive #295, May 2007