Posture Class

1. Posture Class Pacific Way Wellness Center

2. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, said “Look well to the spine for it is often the cause of sickness and disease”.

3. Imagine the tires of your car being out of alignment, they will start to wear unevenly, the car will begin to handle poorly. The wear could cause a blow out or a wreck and so we keep our tires aligned. Your body is your vehicle and it’s alignment is very important.

4. Introduction While the Chiropractic physician is a family doctor dealing with practically every kind of condition and disease, much of our professional services are directed to people with injuries to the back and nervous system. For the body to function at its best, it should be used to obviate strain to the muscles, joints, and ligaments.

5. To prevent low back problems, avoiding strain should become a daily part of our routine, practiced while lying, sitting, standing, walking, working, and exercising. When your body is correctly positioned, internal organs have enough room to function properly and the blood and nerve supply is unhindered. By studying this class, you can start correcting the positions and movements that tend to bring on or aggravate back problems. Learn how to rest. Do you know that it is possible to strain the neck and back muscles even while “resting” in bed? Learn how to live with good posture.

6. For the activities of your daily life, follow this path.. For a video overview of posture alone watch this video The Mindful Body Both the video and the remainder of this class are extremely helpful.

7. To find the correct standing position: Stand one foot away from the wall. Now sit against the wall, bending knees slightly. Tighten abdominal and buttock muscles. This will tilt the pelvis back and flatten the lower spine. Holding this position, inch up the wall to the standing position, by straightening the legs. Now walk around the room, maintaining the same posture. Place back against the wall again to see if you have held it.

8. Check your gate here: In correct, fully erect posture, a long line dropped from the ear will go through the tip of the shoulder, middle of hip, back of kneecap, and front of anklebone.

9. How to stay on your feet without tiring your back. To prevent strain and pain in everyday activities, it is restful to change from one task to another before fatigue sets in. Check your body position frequently, drawing in the abdomen, flattening the back, bending at the knee’s slightly.

10. How to sit correctly: A back’s best friend is a straight, hard chair. If you can’t get the chair you prefer, learn to sit properly on whatever chair you get.

12. Exercise – without getting out of bed. Exercises to be performed while lying in bed are aimed not so much at strengthening muscles as at teaching correct positioning. Muscles used correctly become stronger and in time are able to support the body with the least amount of effort.

13. Bring both knees slowly up to chest. Tighten muscles of abdomen, press back flat against bed. Hold knees to chest for 20 seconds, than lower slowly. Relax, repeat 5 times. This exercise gently stretches the shortened muscles of the lower back, while strengthening abdominal muscles. Clasp knees, bring them up to the chest at the same time coming to a sitting position. Rock back and forth.

14. Exercise without attracting attention. Use these inconspicuous exercises whenever you have a spare moment during the day, both to relax tension and improve the tone of important muscle groups. 1. Rotate shoulders, forward and back 2. Turn head slowly side to side 3. Watch an imaginary plane take off, just below the right shoulder. Stretch neck, follow it slowly as it moves up, around and down, disappearing below the other shoulder. Repeat, starting on the other side.

15. 4. Slowly, slowly, touch left ear to left shoulder; right ear to right shoulder. Raise both shoulders to touch ears, drop them as far down as possible. 5. At any pause in the day (e.g. waiting for an elevator to arrive or a traffic light to change) pull in abdominal muscles, tighten, hold it for a count of eight without breathing. Relax slowly. Increase the count gradually after the first week, practice breathing normally with the abdomen flat and contracted. Do this sitting, standing, and walking.

16. When doing nothing, do it right. Rest is the first rule for the tired, painful back. The following positions relieve pain by taking all pressure and weight off the back and legs. Note the pillows under the knees to relieve strain on the spine. For maximum relief and relaxing effect, these positions should be maintained from 5-25 minutes.

17. How to put your back to bed For proper bed posture, a firm mattress is essential. Bed boards, sold commercially, or devised at home, may be used with soft mattresses. Bed boards, preferably, should be made of ¾ inch plywood. Faulty sleeping positions intensify swayback and result not only in back aches, but numbness, tingling, and pain in arms and legs.

19. In Conclusion The Doctor says…. “Ones” posture clearly conveys in “body language” the state of one’s mind, one’s general health and fitness and one’s spinal health.