Posture, Redefined.

In a traditional sense, your posture is the position your body assumes while sitting, standing, or lying down. Most people assume that “maintaining good posture” requires constant discipline and effort. A smorgasbord of apps, trinkets, shoulder harnesses and wearable alarms are available for purchase to reinforce this concept.

But here’s the problem: that isn’t your real posture. It’s a temporary pose that your muscles can’t sustain for long. Once fatigue sets in, your body relaxes back into its natural position… that’s the true posture you live in every day, under all of the compensation.

So when we talk about “posture,” perhaps it’s more useful to talk about “passive posture,” since it more accurately reflects the alignment of the skeleton without all of the extra effort and brainpower needed to hold it upright throughout the day (otherwise known as “stress”).

Testing yourself is easy: stand, take a deep breath in, breathe out, and let your body completely relax. This is known as the “Slump Test.” It exposes your natural alignment, free of muscular “cheating.”

Try it in front of a mirror. If you feel okay, and your fully relaxed posture isn’t very different from how you started, then you’re compensating efficiently. The weight of your body is resting on your bones, where it belongs, and not on your muscles.

If your neck stiffens, your shoulders sag forward, or you feel your weight shifting about, you will greatly benefit from scheduling an appointment (click here).

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The key takeaway is that posture is a symptom of alignment, and a well-aligned person does not have to try to hold their body upright. Read on to discover how consequences of poor alignment extend beyond cosmetic ones.

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