We have all heard it from mom and dad. We know we're supposed to but we don't. Whether it's because we sit at the computer too much or are just lazy, we all slouch. The fact of the matter is, it's much easier for us to slouch because of the "age old" phenomenon known as gravity.
The force that keeps us all attached to this Earth makes it much harder to hold our head up above our shoulders. Every inch your head moves forward of the neutral position it adds the weight of an additional head (relative to what your muscles need to hold). So if you are neutral your head weighs about 8 pounds, 1 inch forward it now weighs 16 pounds, 2 inches equals 24 pounds and so on. So what is neutral?
Neutral is, when looking from the side, the hole in your ear lines up with the front 1/3 of your shoulder. That's tough to see on your own so ask a friend, "hey, where is my ear hole relative to my shoulder?". Ok, you may get some funny looks so why not just assume you are like the rest of us and your head and shoulders are forward of where they should be. Now let's work on fixing it.
What we need to do is both stretch the muscles that are tense and strengthen muscles that are under utilized and weak. Luckily there is a great exercise that does both. Basically, what it does is over-accentuate normal posture. You hold it for 5-20 seconds, then when you relax, you fall into "good" or neutral posture and try and stay there, instead of slouching again. This should be done throughout the day, not just once a day, like most exercises. You do it when you notice you are slouching, or when you have been sitting at your desk for half an hour, or in the car, or you realize that you haven't done it for a while. This is supposed to be part of your new routine.
Ok, ready to go? Here it is.
As always, go to www.peyserchiropractic.com for more info on this and other great health tips.
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