In our modern culture, most people suffer from bad posture, or I prefer saying lack integrity in their posture.

Since our lifestyles involve a lot of sitting, our bodies adapt to flexion (bending forward). As a result, mobile joints in our body get stiff (hips, ankle, shoulders, T spine, and wrist), and stable joints start to pitch more in movement (knees, elbows, neck, and lower back).

This adaption makes movement quite tricky for your body, as it has to fight internal resistance in every joint every step you take in a day, which can be very taxing on your energy.

People may find themselves either plagued with laziness, which stems from the unwillingness of your body to move as it perceives movement as unsafe, or if movement is forced it may result in pain.

So how do you get out of this Flexion mess?

Step 1

• Foam rolling helps improve tissue quality, so the body is receptive to moving differently. Make it a practice of rolling your upper back, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves every day first thing in the morning and at the end of the day. DO NOT hold your breath when you foam roll; allow your breathing to guide you in the intensity. Ten minutes in the morning can help you maintain good posture all day, and if you are working from home, throw in a bit of foam rolling around lunchtime.

• Glute activation exercises like bridges and core-focused moves like deadbug are assets to bring your attention to pelvic floor alignment. After foam rolling, do 10 Reps of glute b

ridges by pausing at the end range for 5 seconds, followed by deadbug ten repetitions to connect to your core.

Being consistent is the key.

Step 2

Practice good posture.

This practice essentially means bringing integrity to your sitting.

Follow these steps

1. Ground your feet by bringing attention to your heels of the feet pushing into the ground (while sitting or standing, as inactive standing is also a thing)
2. Exhale until you notice core engagement
3. Move your diaphragm by breathing into your belly for 2 minutes

Do this reset multiple times a day, and eventually, your body will apply integrity on its own.

Finally, as much as I endorse self-care, it’s very beneficial to get manual work done by a therapist consistently, so your body is balanced and aligned.

 

If you are Downtown Toronto, see me for the best stretch you will ever experience @physiodna, and I can help you on your journey to bring alignment to your body.

About the Author

Dean Singh

Fascial Stretch Therapist