Posture

The picture to the left pretty accurately describes both my life and the lives of many people with similar types of office jobs. Each day we slave over the almighty PC. This leads to a whole multitude of problems, namely: carpel tunnel syndrome, diminished eyesight, and poor posture. I fear for the first two, because there's not much you can do. OK, so you can get a wrist-rest and you can take breaks from the PC, but it is what it is. Bad posture however, can be corrected with little reminders to yourself.

I have terrible posture, but I'm working on it. One of the causes of my bad posture is the weight I put on during what I call my "blue period" (what?! Picasso had one, so can I). Adding a little extra weight to your stomach is a strong incentive to lean forward, thus creating a concave shape with your body to hide the gut. However, this is terrible for your back, and looks even worse than just showing the damn thing with pride! The Wii started me on this posture adventure, with it's daily body tests (is there anything this machine can't do?). I have very good balance by most standards, and most days my Left-Right balance is in the range of 49-51% on either side. However, in addition to just measuring your balance it also gives little posture tips. From keeping my shoulders up to strengthening my core muscles (thanks daily crunches!) it gives me all kinds of useful advice. My favorite one though is when it tells me to imagine myself being pulled upwards by a string coming out of my head. Think about that, and then do it. You now have fantastic posture!

Posture doesn't only count for when you're standing or walking either. If you're sitting reading this, make a quick self-analysis about your posture. My guess is your back is arched, much like mine always is when I'm sitting at a PC! This is definitely a weak point for me, but one I'm working on fervently. I try to give myself reminders every 10 minutes. How's your posture? How about now? Sitting posture is every bit as important as standing posture (and possibly even more so) because we sit for so many hours every day. Which leads me to my next point:

Get up! If you've been sitting for more than an hour, stand up! Stretch out and I guarantee you'll feel better almost instantly. It doesn't have to be anything major, just twist your torso back and forth a little bit, maybe reach for your toes once or twice, and make a few circles with your arms. It takes less than a minute, it will stretch out your muscles and joints, and give you energy! Muscle fatigue from sitting is a killer, so get up and get that blood flowing (and as a side bonus you'll raise your metabolism a little bit).

Remember: standing, walking, and sitting are all important times to be thinking about your posture. With good posture and a little stretching you'll poise yourself to be ready for many more years without back problems, allowing you to lead a healthier and happier life!