How Can We Improve Our Posture?
Many people intuitively understand that poor posture is not healthy and doesn’t look good either so they try to stand upright using effort to counter the negative effects. Unfortunately, this does not get desired or lasting results. Holding yourself upright abnormally changes the spine and compresses your chest and heart.
Furthermore, when we try to hold our bodies up using our will and effort, it is tiring, the muscles ache and spasm and it uses precious energy that is needed for life functioning instead. Struggling to hold yourself upright with effort is not the answer. The answer is receiving structural correction so your body will stay upright with no effort. I have seen the beginning of this process happen noticeably with many of my clients even after the first treatment session as they have begun the process of regaining their health, something that they may not have had for years, some of them for decades!
Many people intuitively understand that poor posture is not healthy and doesn’t look good either so they try to stand upright using effort to counter the negative effects. Unfortunately, this does not get desired or lasting results. Holding yourself upright abnormally changes the spine and compresses your chest and heart.
Furthermore, when we try to hold our bodies up using our will and effort, it is tiring, the muscles ache and spasm and it uses precious energy that is needed for life functioning instead. Struggling to hold yourself upright with effort is not the answer. The answer is receiving structural correction so your body will stay upright with no effort. I have seen the beginning of this process happen noticeably with many of my clients even after the first treatment session as they have begun the process of regaining their health, something that they may not have had for years, some of them for decades!
Actual structural correction restores your upright and natural posture. As a result your body functions better, looks better, and you get the health benefits you’re looking for.
My overall goal for each client that I work on is to aid in facilitating structural alignment within the body. Flawed structural alignment results in poor posture, which is a cause of pain as well as compromising to all body functions.Confirming this is the scientific article from the American Journal of Pain Management. It is entitled: “POSTURAL AND RESPIRATORY MODULATION OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, PAIN, AND HEALTH”: 1994; Volume 4, pages 36-39, and authored by: John Lennon, BM, MM, C. Norman Sheeley, MD., Roger K. Cady, MD, William Matta, Ph.D., Richard Cox, Ph.D. and William F. Simpson, Ph.D.
“Observation of the striking influence of postural mechanics on function and symptomatology have led to our hypothesis that posture affects and moderates every physiologic function from breathing to normal hormonal production.” (Citations from the research will be italicized throughout this article.)
First of all, let’s define the word “physiology”. Physiology is Latin for “how the body works.” What the research discovered is that “posture affects . . . every physiologic function,” meaning all of our body functions, not some, ALL, because every bodily function is controlled and moderated by our neurological system.
Altered structural alignment resulting in poor posture causes abnormal pressure on and stretching of the nerves, as a result, all functions are adversely affected by poor posture. Structural correction will result in upright posture without effort and a much healthier body.
A few examples of how flawed structural alignment, which alters posture adversely, affects health:
- It alters the chest cavity and rib cage shape which compresses the lungs and heart. Besides causing asthma and other breathing problems, this compromises heart function and can cause heart disease (there is a great deal of medical research on this, see: Height Loss in Older Men Associations With Total Mortality and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease S. Goya Wannamethee, PhD; et. al, Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:2546-2552.)
- It compresses the abdomen, which can lead to digestive problems.
- Altered posture also twists and bends your blood vessels to cause circulatory problems.
In summary, having your connective tissue (fascia) out of alignment not only causes the whole body to twist in compensation, affecting all organs, it can cause everything from headaches, neck pain, lower back pain and pain anywhere in between, including stressing all the joints: such as ankles, feet, knees, hips and shoulders. This is specifically noted in the scientific research:
“Spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture.”
Therefore, correcting your body structure will result in your posture staying upright in a natural position without effort and will relieve these maladies. This is what I work toward facilitating within each individual that I treat. Through releasing and lengthening shortened connective tissue (fascia) , we make the changes to restore a healthier posture for you with the resultant positive changes to your health and well being. Back to the article:
“Spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture.”
Therefore, correcting your body structure will result in your posture staying upright in a natural position without effort and will relieve these maladies. This is what I work toward facilitating within each individual that I treat. Through releasing and lengthening shortened connective tissue (fascia) , we make the changes to restore a healthier posture for you with the resultant positive changes to your health and well being. Back to the article:
“The most significant influences of posture are upon respiration (and) oxygenation . . .”
Not only can we breathe better, we can oxygenate the blood better to be more clear-headed and energetic.
“Ultimately, it appears that homeostasis and autonomic regulation are intimately connected with posture. The corollary of these observations is that many symptoms, including pain, may be moderated or eliminated by improved posture.”
This is a huge declaration for a scientific paper published in a Pain Management journal. Homeostasis is how you keep your body in equilibrium, physically and chemically balanced, such as maintaining body temperature when it’s hot or cold. When it’s hot, we sweat to cool, when it’s cold, we shiver to warm up.
Altered structure which leads to poor posture compromises our homeostasis and autonomic function as well as causing pain. (Autonomic function controls involuntary functions of the body such as breathing and respiration, heart rate, digestion, perspiration, etc.). The key question is how can we improve our posture? The short answer is we cannot ourselves, but in conjunction with proper bodywork, everyday stretching, maintaining healthy food and liquid intake, overall mindfulness and regular exercise, it can become possible to correct our structure and reap the bounty of benefits that structural alignment has to offer.
The modalities I use to facilitate this process consist of but are not always limited to: Active Release Therapy, MFR (Myofascial Release Therapy), PNF, Table-Thai, Trigger Point Therapy, Acupressure and Reflexology...whatever works best for the body I am working on. I have come to recognize the importance of the therapist not taking on the role of the one who is expected to "fix" a problem. Instead, it is my role to be a guide and to assist and empower my clients to play just as much of an active role as I do myself in each session.
Not only can we breathe better, we can oxygenate the blood better to be more clear-headed and energetic.
“Ultimately, it appears that homeostasis and autonomic regulation are intimately connected with posture. The corollary of these observations is that many symptoms, including pain, may be moderated or eliminated by improved posture.”
This is a huge declaration for a scientific paper published in a Pain Management journal. Homeostasis is how you keep your body in equilibrium, physically and chemically balanced, such as maintaining body temperature when it’s hot or cold. When it’s hot, we sweat to cool, when it’s cold, we shiver to warm up.
Altered structure which leads to poor posture compromises our homeostasis and autonomic function as well as causing pain. (Autonomic function controls involuntary functions of the body such as breathing and respiration, heart rate, digestion, perspiration, etc.). The key question is how can we improve our posture? The short answer is we cannot ourselves, but in conjunction with proper bodywork, everyday stretching, maintaining healthy food and liquid intake, overall mindfulness and regular exercise, it can become possible to correct our structure and reap the bounty of benefits that structural alignment has to offer.
The modalities I use to facilitate this process consist of but are not always limited to: Active Release Therapy, MFR (Myofascial Release Therapy), PNF, Table-Thai, Trigger Point Therapy, Acupressure and Reflexology...whatever works best for the body I am working on. I have come to recognize the importance of the therapist not taking on the role of the one who is expected to "fix" a problem. Instead, it is my role to be a guide and to assist and empower my clients to play just as much of an active role as I do myself in each session.