Let me guess: you think improving your posture is a matter of just trying harder, or making your back stronger. I guess the logic makes sense. If your back is getting fatigued and exhausted holding you upright, it stands to reason you’d want it stronger so it's up to the task. But let me guess one more thing: the idea of actually putting in all that effort probably feels strenuous to your already fatigued body. Am I right?
I’d like to propose a new theory: it’s not that your back muscles are too weak or lazy. It’s that they’re already doing more than they should have to. They’re tired and overworked. Through a lifestyle with far too much sitting (forward bending), and little to no back-bending, the front body muscles end up shortened, relative to the back body muscles. This means that to keep you upright, those back muscles have to fight against not only gravity, but also the tug of opposing muscles. Instead of asking even more from those back muscles, you should be striving to reduce the burden on them.
Good posture should be effortless. If it isn’t, you’re always going to revert to something different when you’re not concentrating on it anymore. If you only have good posture when you’re thinking about your posture, you don’t really have good posture. American society is obsessed with the concept of relentless effort, convinced that the solution to everything is to just try harder. But when it comes to your posture, that attitude is going to keep you locked in a battle against yourself. Instead of throwing more effort at the problem, try seeking out the ease and comfort in better alignment
Bad posture is only easier because you’re accustomed to it. In reality, it’s a whole lot less comfortable and puts a bigger strain on your muscles. Before you decide to strengthen your back muscles, figure out if there’s any tension in your front body, or muscles that need to be lengthened so you return to a well-aligned neutral at rest. Because if the issue is that your back muscles are already doing too much, then asking even more of them isn’t the answer.
What else have you been trying to force that may be better served by a gentler approach?
Comments