Sitting is the new Smoking. Prolonged sitting has turned all of us into couch potatoes. We sit on the couch slouching our back and poking our chin forward, completely unaware of our body posture. No doubt, these faulty postures cause various aches and pains if not corrected for long. But the good news is that you can improve your posture with a little effort.
Here are some quick tips to correct incorrect postures –
1. Once every hour, take a break from sitting, and stand up and walk around for 2-3 mins.
2. Sit with your device screen at or slightly below eye-level (no chin poking forward, be sure you sit up straight).
3. Sit with your back supported well against the backrest (and you may use a small pillow to support your low back), be it a couch or a chair.
4. Don’t keep your feet dangling when sitting on chair but keep your feet supported either on footrest or floor (to reduce stress to muscles of low back).
5. Keep your forearms supported on the armrest while operating keyboard (to reduce stress to muscles of shoulder blade and upper back).
6. Take vision breaks: every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to focus on an object at least 20 feet away. Adjust screen brightness and contrast levels that allow you to comfortably view the screen.
Here are a few quick, easy and fun exercises that can be done to improve your posture and keep yourself active.
| EXERCISE | HOW TO DO? | |
Toes curling and stretching out– | Curl your toes and then stretch out to get a good stretch to all the important small muscles of your feet which we ignore most of the times. (10 times) |   |
| Butt walking– | While sitting on the chair with your back straight, lift and shift one buttock at a time to move forward on chair. Then shift each buttock at a time again to move backward on chair and repeat again. Helps activate muscles of low back and hips better after sitting for long in one position. (5 times front and back) |  |
| Aeroplane hugs– | Open your arms as wide as possible like aeroplane wings but diagonally (shown in first picture) while taking a deep breath in. Then while breathing out bring your arms closer to your body and hug yourself (second picture) Repeat it by moving arms alternately diagonally. (10 times alternate sides each) |   |
| Overhead Namaste– | Perform Namaste in front of your body and gradually move it overhead giving a good stretch to your arms, shoulders, upper back while straightening your slouched back. (5 times with 10 second hold) |  |
| Clenching fist– | Stretch your arms in front and clench both fists and open wide. (15 times) |   |
| Arm circles– | Stretch your arms to your side and move those in small circles gently. (10 times) |  |
| Chest opener- | Place hands behind your head with elbows bent. Pull the elbows out to the side while taking a deep breath in, squeezing shoulder blades, holding your head high and straightening the slouched back. Feel a good stretch to the muscles of the front of your shoulders and chest. Breathe out and bring the elbows in and chin down. (10 repetition) |  ↓  |
| Heel raises- | While standing straight behind your chair, raise your both heels off the floor and back to the floor. You may take support of the chair. (10 times) |  |
| Jog in place– | Stand up and jog in place. Begin slowly and you may gradually increase the pace as tolerable. Don’t stamp your feet on the floor while jogging. Make sure you land softly. (One minute duration or more) |  |
These exercises help you overcome lethargy, improve blood circulation, keep your muscles and joints active and prevent any aches and pains arising due to poor posture.
Hope these exercises help you stay fit and posture perfect always.
Also, with the aim to raise awareness about Postural Health and prevent pain and suffering due to lack of awareness about it, we have published a book. We sincerely hope that the book serves its purpose of providing value to its readers indeed!
Grab your copy soon!
To your health, Iconic Physio, Mumbai. Contact: 8928475928