HEALTH & FITNESS
PROFESSIONAL HELP: Tips from local leaders in their industry
Maintaining Good Posture in the Digital Age By Kris Denning
T
he epidemic of “text neck” is affecting all humans immersed in the digital age. And it doesn’t just look bad and cause you to lose height. It creates neck and upper back pain, constricts breathing, and is said to increase cortisol (stress hormones), thereby slowing the metabolism. Bad posture can affect the entire body. And, since these devices aren’t going away, it is up to each of us to be mindful of our posture whenever possible and to know how to correct it. If you can, have someone take a full body picture of you from the side. Look at this photo and consider your plumb line. You should be able to draw a straight line connecting your ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle. If you have this plumb line, great! If not, there are ways you can help to bring yourself back into proper alignment. With “text neck”, the ears will be jutted out forward of the shoulders and the upper back may be high and rounded. Looking down at your device creates a workload for the neck and upper back muscles that gets exponentially heavier as the angle of your gaze gets lower. Those muscles get so overly worked and tense from holding this unnatural position for so long, that they can create a hunchback. Holding your device in front of you causes your shoulders to rotate forward. This internal rotation of the shoulders causes the chest muscles to tighten, while it weakens the muscles of the midback
which we would normally be using to pull the shoulders back. To help lengthen and stretch the chest muscles, stand in an open doorway with your palms and elbows touching the doorframe and lean into that open space. When sitting or standing for long lengths of time, imagine someone pouring ice water down the center of your back. This will help to draw back your shoulders and contract the muscles of your mid back. Another great way to strengthen the muscles of the mid back while opening the shoulders is to practice the Yoga pose, “Locust”. To do this, lie face down on your stomach with your palms pressing against your thighs. Lift the chest and legs while drawing your shoulders back and down as if squeezing an orange between your shoulder blades. Scoop the neck in and lengthen through the top of your head. Hold position for several breaths, then rest. Practice this daily.
To help bring your body into its natural plum line, stand against the wall with your shoulders, back of your head, and hips touching the wall. If this causes your chin to lift, then scoop your neck inward and lift through the top of your head so that your chin is parallel with the floor. See if you can step away from the wall while maintaining this position. Practice this as often as you can so that your body gets used to the feel of proper alignment. Whether you’re driving, brushing your teeth, or working at your desk, be mindful of your body position; and take breaks from your device often! It took a long time to come into that fully upright position on the evolutionary chart! Let’s try not to regress.
Kris Kris Denning is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and a yoga/pilates teacher at Timberhill Athletic Club. Contact her at
healthytothesoul.com
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Willamette Living Magazine February / March 2020
