Posture. In the best of all possible worlds, the little nudge you just received will serve as a gentle reminder to raise yourself up to your full height, wiggle your shoulders, roll your neck, and take a full, deep breath.
Posture is a subtle yet visible outside indicator of a person's internal energy and vitality. Next time you visit a public place (airport, shopping mall, beach, the county fair), look around. Notice the people who seem to express the most natural vitality. Then consider how you reached that conclusion. Chances are, they will be sporting some clues: erect posture, a peaceful facial expression or smile, and a little sparkle in their eye.
In my daily life, I consider myself privileged to assist people in attaining and maintaining a balanced, healthy posture. We work mostly with the muscles. There's another important factor, though. A person's gotta breathe!
Breath directly supports your posture in at least three ways. Let's explore the connection.
- When you arise in the morning to a standing or seated position, your body encounters one of life's little paradoxes. Gravity. Gravity is a really good thing, because it keeps us anchored securely here on planet earth.
At the same time, gravity poses a continual challenge. In order to remain erect, we must match its energy with our own. To the extent that gravity out-pulls us, we gradually begin to sag. Look at a group of pre-schoolers running around. Chances are you won't see too many slumping postures. Yet among a group of senior citizens, you'll likely notice more than a few who "sag."
Over the years, something happens to some of us. Gradually, our energy drops to the point where we lose the ability to match gravity. This is not inevitable, so here's what to do if you'd like to be erect and vital well into your senior years.
Breathe. Breath is the vehicle that maintains a strong central core of energy throughout your body.
Imagine that there is an invisible tube running right up the center of your body, with the lower end of the tube connecting to the ground and the upper end connecting to the sky. Now imagine that your strong, full breath supports, supplies, and maintains the shape and integrity of that tube. This energy enables you to match gravity efficiently, supporting your erect posture.
- The "sagging" posture we mentioned above often begins at your mid-section. At a purely physical level, there is a muscle that runs crosswise across the middle of your trunk or abdomen. It is called the diaphragm muscle. The diaphragm drops in position when you take a full, deep breath and elevates when you exhale.
Taking full, deep breaths is an excellent work-out for your diaphragm! The more fully you breathe, the more your diaphragm will claim its space in the center of your body.
Breathe. Relax your belly. Say "Ahhhhh." Breathe again. Focus on full breaths from time to time as you go about your day. Notice that you get a better breath when you sit or stand up straight. Before you know it, you will be feeling more upright.
- While being upright at your full height is a great foundation for optimal posture, at the detail level, there's more to it. Your individual muscles also have a lot to say about how things line up in your body.
Over the years, things happen. Stress, falls, bumps, bruises, and your unique character or personality all shape your body's alignment. Sometimes individual muscles bear the brunt of things. They get tight and out of balance. Chronically tightened muscles move your bones into unnatural positions and change your posture.
When this happens, of course, you'll want to loosen them up. Hands-on bodywork is an excellent starting point for many people. It will help you identify where the tightened areas are. Your body is such a great compensator that you may not be consciously aware of them! It will also help you begin to loosen your muscles up, increasing circulation to the now-loosening and more comfortable areas.
You can help, too! Imagine that your body's tissue itself breathes -- the muscles, connective tissue, bones, organs -- everything! (It does. Oxygen is carried to the tissue and waste products removed through your circulation.) Conscious directed breathing can influence your local tissue.
Close your eyes and notice if any particular area of your body gets your attention as being "not quite right." It may feel tight or tense, or you may have some other signal. Just notice the area.
Now focus on your breathing. Take full, deep, regular breaths in and out. You are filling your body with nourishment on each inhale and expelling any waste products on the exhale.
Next, imagine that the area you just noticed is breathing the same breath you feel in your lungs. Imagine it expanding to bring in nourishment with each full inhale and contracting to flush out waste products on each exhale. Continue to focus your breathing this way for just a few minutes.
Finally, relax and draw your attention back to the areas you noticed in the first place. Are they more comfortable? I hope so! Continue your conscious breathing in this way for just a few minutes at a time, and you may just notice some positive changes begin to take place in your body.
Breathing is natural as can be, yet there's always more to learn. Here is one of my favorite resources for information on conscious breathing and natural health: Integral Breathwork. Be sure to check out the book Heal Yourself with Breath, Light, Sound & Water!
Elizabeth Eckert can help you explore how simple everyday choices create health — or undermine even the best of intentions. With a background that ranges from energy medicine to structural bodywork to developmental psychology, this "Stick-To-It Coach" has the experience to support you in creating the healthiest possible expression of — you!
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