Posture Exercises: How to Relieve Back Pain and Improve Your Stature
Posted by admin on Jun 15, 2009
Most posture exercises are centred around the strengthening of weak muscles, in order to realign poor posture. However, the Alexander technique has a completely different approach to relieving back pain that involves lying down in a particular position for 20 minutes each day. Having attended several Alexander Technique courses I believe this approach (unlike other posture exercises) is 10 times more effective and has a long lasting effect for many years.
I could go on about why the so-called “semi-supine” position is such an effective posture exercise, but I think that it will be much better if you simply try it out for a few days and experience it for yourself.
As a general rule, this exercise is safe for most people to do, as it involves no lifting of weights or putting your body into weird positions. However, if you are in any doubt you should consult your doctor first just to be on the safe side.
The following video is a step-by-step instruction on how to get the most out of the semi-supine position. For those who prefer a written description, I have included one beneath the video.
This exercise is most commonly associated with the Alexander technique, as a way to relieve unnecessary muscle tension throughout the body. It involves lying down on your back with some books underneath your head, your knees bent, and with your hands resting on your navel.
The amount of books to put under your head needs to be adjusted according to your current posture. Although the best thing to do is to ask an Alexander technique teacher, if this is not possible please follow these steps: —
- Stand with your back against a flat surface such as a door or wall.
- Don’t try to stand up straight, just stand in your normal way with your buttocks and shoulder blades lightly touching the wall.
- Without moving, have someone measure the distance between the wall and the back of your head
- This distance is the thickness of the books that you should have and your head for the exercise.
Note: it’s better to have too many books under your head than too few.
There are many ways to get into the semi-supine position, but here is one preferred way that is probably the easiest.
Getting into the Semi-Supine Position
- Find a flat piece of floor to lie down on — preferably carpeted, if not then lay a blanket down.
- Keep your spine upright and put one leg forwards and go down onto the other knee.
- Place the books to your left or to your right, but not directly in front of you, as this will be where your head will be resting.
- Place both hands on the floor so that you are on all fours.
- Take one knee and put it through the gap and then naturally roll onto your back, putting your head onto the books.
- Bring your knees up so that they are facing the ceiling. Your feet should be as near as possible to your pelvis, whilst still remaining comfortable.
Coming out of the Semi-Supine Position
- Roll your body off the books so that you are lying face down with the support of one hand and one leg.
- Rise yourself up onto all fours once again.
- Pick up the books and then place one leg in front of the other, leaving money on the grounds.
- Think of your head going forward and up, whilst leaning forward and you will find that you will naturally come into the standing position.
In a later post I will go through the reasons why this is probably the best of any posture exercises I have tried. For best results you should do this exercise for 20 minutes each day. Almost everyone who sticks to the habit of doing this exercise every day notices an improvement in their posture. The biggest problem people face is remembering to do it each and every day for a prolonged period, so you might want to set an alarm to go off at a set time every day. If you’re really dedicated about improving your posture and relieving back pain, then you will see an improvement from these posture exercises.
Posture Exercises Help Prevent Shrinking With Old Age
Posted by admin on Jun 17, 2009
In this article I will be revealing some simple yet highly effective posture exercises that can help prevent the shortening of your spine with age.
Have you ever noticed that your parents or grandparents seem to be shrinking with old age? You are not mistaken, it is actually a well known scientific phenomenon.
According to a scientist by the name of Junghanns, the fluid-filled discs in the spine become compressed with age. What I found most interesting is that there is still no reason for this shrinking of the spine, other than muscular tension and gravity that continually compress the discs. In other words, if the spine is releived from these compressive forces on a regular basis, the discs can retain their shape and allow an individual to keep their full stature into their old age.
The disks in the spine are a little bit like sponges, as they absorb and release up to 20 times their weight in water. This gives the spine a natural shock absorbing property, but at the same time it is vulnerable to excessive and prolonged compression. When an individual has held excessive muscle tension for many years, it is normal for the discs to have shrunk in size causing the spine to lose its shape, strength, and resilience.
When you think about the spine in this way, it explains why many people have improved their posture simply by lying down for 20 minutes each day. It really helps reduce the pressure on your body, thus easing or preventing back pain. Please see my previous post (complete with a instructional video) for details.
Here are some other posture exercises for you to try: —
- Stand in front of a full length mirror and turn to the side. Take notice of the curves in your back and if possible have someone take a photo.
- Lie down in the semi-supine position for 20 minutes. Click here for instructions.
- Stand in front of the mirror immediately after lying down and take another photo from the exact same position.
Posture Exercises: The Reasons Why Posture Changes with Age
Posted by admin on Jun 16, 2009
One of the tell-tale signs of the aging process is poor posture, but it is actually possible to prevent this with posture exercises.
Arguably the least attractive thing about old age is the customary hunched back and rounded shoulders that all too often accompany grey hairs and wrinkles. However, it is possible to maintain a great posture into old age – so I have written this blog post to tell you what you need to know.
It really helps to be aware of the causes of posture deterioration as it can motivate you into doing the posture exercises that I have described in previous posts, especially the semi-supine lying down.
Reason for Poor Posture #1: Several Thousand Hours of Sitting at a School Desk in Our Childhood Years
Watch any child when they are in their preschool years and you will see an example of a perfect posture. Children naturally hold no excessive tension in their bodies and move with effortless poise regardless of what they are doing. This is put to an end when the child starts school, as the child is made to sit in very badly designed furniture, in a static position, for hours on end. For more details about this matter, please see my previous blog post, but in short this is a dangerous way of working due to the following two reasons:
- Holding the body still for any extended period of time causes the muscles to tire and tense.
- A typical school chair slopes backwards, thus tipping the pelvis away from the desk. This leaves the child with no option but to round their back in order to reach their desks.
In countries where children are not made to sit at school desks, you will almost always see that they maintain their perfect posture into adulthood.
Reason for Poor Posture #2: Lack of Exercise
Movement and exercise are commonly overlooked, but in fact they are perhaps one of the best posture exercises that you can do to ensure healthy and happy living. The reason for this is that our bodies are designed for continuous movement — we are never really still for any length of time. Even the act of standing, which many would assume is a static position, actually involves many micro-adjustments that are performed unconsciously over and over. An exercise you can try is to stand on one leg and then close your eyes and see how hard it is to maintain your balance. It shows how much we rely on our eyes to make the tiny adjustments in muscle tension that keep us upright.
Despite movement being such an important activity, we often make no time for it in our daily schedule. I know that I am certainly guilty of this — I very rarely put in my diary anything to do with exercise. Instead, people will wait and tell their posture has deteriorated to the point where they have to go and see a doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor has a limited range of semi-effective remedies for back pain. If only a little exercise were taken a few times a week — most times this would have had a much more significant effect than anything a doctor or surgeon can administer.
The major problem seems to be that from the time a child goes to school until a person retires, we are typically expected to spend most of a day in a sitting position. It is hardly surprising that so many people have back pain these days when you consider that the average adult will spend around nine hours every single working day in a chair.
Despite old age being commonly associated with weakness and frailty, it has been shown that remarkable muscle strength can be achieved even at ages of 70 and above. It’s a simple case of if you don’t use it, you lose it….. So use it! Cycling, jogging, swimming, etc are all fantastic posture exercises that do you the world of good and can be great fun.