What is body posture and Various tips to improve poor posture?

Body posture may be defined as the correct alignments of body parts. Body posture plays a very important part in looking after the spinal cord. Generally, the spine is an S-shaped. There is a curve in the neck and a curve in the lower back. To keep the spine strong and healthy means keeping you fit and active. Poor posture due to awkward sitting, lifting heavy weight can lead to unnecessary strain on the muscles, bones and joints and ligament in the spine. And that may lead to long term problems.  Over time, these may impair the body’s ability to counter with these extra forces on it. Poor posture causes tiredness, fatigue and wear and tear of muscles, back pain etc. making an individual physically unfit. This poor posture can be improved by doing regular stretching, yoga training and physical exercises. 

Our posture is also controlled by the unconscious part of our brain just like heartrate and breathing. There are many researches present that show links of poor posture to scoliosis, tension headaches and back pain. 

So, there are a lot of reasons of a poor posture. But it getting harder these days.  Sitting in an awkward position for a long time can promote poor posture, and posture can also be deteriorated by continuously using computers or mobile devices, which encourage to look downward. Lifting heavy weight can also alter body posture. Many studies suggest that, on average, continuous use of mobile phone corelates with posture getting worse. To check whether the posture is good or bad. Measure the space between neck and the wall, and the space between your back and the wall. The gap should be less than 2 inches. If an individual is experiencing larger gap, this shows poor posture and curve spinal cord. 

There are a lot of problems that are the result of bad posture. These include back pain, neck pain, curving of spinal cord, headaches, it affects other organs functions like disruption in digestion and muscle pain. It makes the shoulders rolling forward and hunching effect. 

How to improve poor posture? 

To improve poor posture, one should have to do the following-

• If you are sitting, make sure that your neck should not be tilted forward. It should be vertical.  Sitting Straight is very important. But if the posture is not that great, try redesigning your environment.
• Adjust your screen so it is at or slightly below eyelevel. All the parts of the body liked the elbows and wrists should get support system.  
• Sleep also alters posture. Improper sleep alignment results in bad posture. To cope this, neck should be properly supported which ensures improved circulation and muscles are relaxed and breathing is obstructed. To get good sleep posture, sleeping on side with pillow between the legs is a good method.
• Shoes with high heels should be avoided. 
• It is not only enough to get a good posture but it is also very important to do regular movement of body parts. It is said that if a person who does not do movement of body or have a good posture is more vulnerable than a person with regular movement of body. 
• Back packs should be made in contact with your back. If there is a lot of sitting work, one should take small breaks and do some stretching after every hour. 
• There are many yoga training and physical exercises that plays an important role in making the good body posture. Yoga exercises like stretching, doing muscle strength exercises align the spinal cord and strengthen the stiff muscles. 
• If an individual finds it difficult to improve poor posture, he should consult physical therapist. 

There are many postural exercises which can also be done to improve posture. For example- Chin tucks.  In this one has to tuck the chin back. It works on the neck muscles. When the posture and head going forward and your shoulders start curling forward, so chin tuck helps to reset those muscles. It is very beneficial for the tight and the stiff muscles of the neck. The other is Shoulders squeezes. It works on thoracic, the upper back and the neck. It keeps the shoulder up and back. This type of exercise is important for those who works on the computer for longer hours, making them to lean for longer time. It just stretches and reset the muscles of shoulders and get them back in their proper position. Prone cobra helps realign the shoulders and torso. Start by lying face and push yourself up with the hands until you are looking forward, then release. Wall support exercising can also help to retore normal alignment.  Various yoga exercises like Balasana (child’s Pose), Trikonasana (triangle pose), dhanurasana (the Bow) etc., can also be performed to improve or restore poor posture.