Yesterday morning I was making breakfast for myself- chopping strawberries and bananas into a bowl- making a cup of green tea (I was having a healthy day) and I noticed with some chagrin, that while I was chopping the strawberries my shoulders were hunched in a very non-attractive manner.
I straightened up instantly.
Throughout the rest of my day I was acutely aware of my posture- in front of the computer (horrendous), at work (leaning against walls and objects to avoid standing straight), at dinner (elbows off the table!). When did my posture get so bad? I visited this very question on my blog about a year ago (see here). After that post I vowed to constantly have good posture. That didn’t last long.
I am finding a correlation with walking around ‘unconscious’ and having bad posture. I am a dreamer and tend to live a lot in my imagination and whimsy… meanwhile life is carrying on around me and I am going through it like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! (Okay, it’s not that bad but it might as well be… bad posture is a sin in my book).
This got me thinking about how I can straighten up and have more poise. Stop daydreaming? Live more in the present moment? Breathe deeper? Probably a combination of all three. This goes back to everything I've been exploring over the past few months... eating mindfully, being present, living with passion... (I can imagine it would be hard to live passionately with hunched shoulders- the two simply do not go together).
I’m glad I’m revisiting this subject again because I would like to know about your posture… how has it been lately?
Seurat's Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte is shown above. His subjects show impeccable posture. Something to aspire to perhaps?
11 comments:
Hi! I am constantly checking myself for bad posture, too. I used to dance and think of that every time I see the slouch. There's confidence in standing straight, too.
Thank you for the birthday wishes! I think I will start reading your blog. I like the way you write.
Cheers, Victoria
ps. I agree- museums and such are more enjoyable with a fresh, put together face!
Back problems are the best way to keep your posture perfect at all times -- with hip tilt and stress on your abs vs spine -- because if you don't, you hurt.
Here is a catwalk tip for those who are lucky to have a civilized back: imagine that you have a string at the top of your head pulling you up, and a coin squeezed between your butt cheeks. A posture-straightening winner.
I get horrible posture the longer I sit on my desk. Sometimes I can't believe how awful I am slouched. I correct myself for a bit. I need to get better.
imagine pulling your shoulders away from your ears. I can't remember who told me that, but it works. Still, I have to consciously remind myself of this every time. *le sigh*
My posture is dreadful from being hunched over a computer. I need to do more yoga type stretching exercises. I have been thinking of taking up ballet classes (nothing fancy just basic conditioning) with my daughter's teacher. She has the most brilliant posture of any woman I have ever seen. xx
I suppose if we were to wear clothes like in the Seurat picture it might improve our posture - all those round hats and bustles.
I like the painting it reminds me of the first thing I learned about art...
Sir ot - knew alot about dots
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Posture - it is great - I spend quite a bit of time on the pullup bar. I have seen old men the hunch over and I think I never want to hunch over like that... I have never seen a hunched person at the pullup bar.
It is a lot better after reading this...xv
Thank you for all of your lovely comments and observations. Yes I think it's safe to say as writers we are in front of our computers a lot and good posture can go right down the pot (so to speak). You have all inspired me to keep my back straight (one day at a time). Exercise is a really good way to do that as Josephine mentioned yoga and ballet- and Tom mentioned pull-ups. Being present. All of these things help. Merci! xoxo
Zoiks! You have touched a nerve...or rather, done that thing I do to my children; I gentle hand on the back, reminding them to unslouch.
I have to admit, it was easiest to maintain good posture at my limberest/strongest--a strong core helps, along with the mindfulness, and the string visualization trick.
Sitting up, I am... :)
Yes, slouching in front of the computer all day is definitely not good. I find dancing to be the best thing for my back and posture. It puts you in a total state of awareness of your body.
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