Everybody seems to slouch these days. It’s so nice to see someone NOT slouch, for once!  It shows personal integrity, respect to your body, and courtesy to the world by presenting yourself at best. Your body expresses, but also instructs you to feel what it is expressing.

You could be hunching your way to depression and lower self-esteem. (Ok, I may be exaggerating to make my point.) Women slouching to hide their breasts. Men hunching over on a chair like a defeated prisoner. Tall people bending over like a withering plant. Children hunched like little stress balls, without knowing that they are emulating what they see in our society.

Here are some things you can do:

First, strengthen your abdominal muscles by keeping it mildly taut as often as possible. Tighten it as soon as you catch yourself not loose-y goose-y. This brings posture-awareness, and automatically forces your back muscles to respond in kind.

Then, focus on bringing the natural curvature of your spine back, as if you were a Christmas ornament and a string held you up from the top. Keep that posture which will feel initially unnatural, then deliciously natural for five minutes. See if you can get your body to remember it. Soft couches, certain chairs literally make it impossible for any of your muscles to engage. So, get rid of those, if you are serious about getting out of the habit of slouching.

Swimming works out your shoulders in a way that normal workouts and weight-lifting often doesn’t, with dynamic movement. Another route is doing yoga or pilates, which stretches, engages, and relaxes your muscles while also making you aware of tensions in areas that you tend to bring your stress.

And finally, consider the practical matters. If you’re tall, you are slouching to talk to shorter people. Make a point to sit down, if you will be talking a while. Small sized chairs, desks that limit your legs could be causing your posture to readjust. Become aware of those.

At your computer, if your eyesight is bad, you will be hunching to see the screen. Make it a point to wear your glasses. Or if you are reading, your posture will be thrown off if you constantly bend over your book. Try different positions lying down, rotating from left side to right side depending on whether you are on an odd or even page number.

Happy straightening your backs!

Misheel.

P.S. If you have some good ideas, please share in the comments.