Proper Alignment: What’s YOUR Pandemic Posture?

Not all activities that we do when sitting are all bad. Vegging out on Netflix for the entire weekend might not be the best activity. However, knitting, reading, and reflecting are positive activities that can be done while sitting because each has its own natural stopping point.

Many seated activities hold your head out of proper alignment

Research shows the more you sit, the more you slouch your head and neck forward. When you stand up, the slouching continues. Before long, discomfort, and possibly pain, develops in the neck and shoulders. That rounded posture is also not good for the spine. Your joints and muscles do not want to be in that position either. All our body parts have a direct line to our brain over which to message their discontent by interrupting our lives.

How many Advils can you take?

So what is proper alignment?

Good posture — I prefer to say “alignment” — is stacking your ears over your shoulders, and over the hips, and over the ankles. Now, your body weight is mostly in your heels. This alignment keeps your spine, neck, and shoulders in an aligned position, the exact position our bodies are designed to be in.

How do you maintain proper alignment when sitting?

When sitting, the alignment is the same for the ears, shoulders, and hips. Many have a habit of crossing one’s legs but usually cross only one leg over the other. That habit causes an imbalance in the body. It is essential to have your weight evenly distributed across your ‘sitz’ bones (the bones you sit on.) Crossing one leg over the other may twist your pelvis, which forces your spine to compensate.

What happens when you don’t practice proper alignment?

Slouching forward moves the spine from an “S” shape to a “C” shape. Extending the discs in the spine puts more pressure on the joints. Before long, the alignment of the pelvis changes and not for the good!

Over time, there is more wear and tear on the spine and neck. The good news is that there are steps you can take to improve your habits.

Things you can do to improve your habits:

• Use a pillow to support your lumbar spine when sitting. The best pillow is an inexpensive one that is not filled to the max so you can adjust it to fit the space.
• Don’t cross your legs when sitting to help avoid misalignment of your spine, neck, and shoulders.
• Observe how both of your sitz bones are connecting with the chair. This connection should be the same on both sides.
• Notice if you have an “S” shape in your spine.
• Keep your chin level with the floor and your head back.
• If your feet don’t touch the floor, support your feet so that your hips and knees are at a 90-degree angle.
• Walking is always a great activity to do as a movement break.

Bottom Line: And finally … just click the “pause” features on your Netflix and get up to stretch at least every hour.

If you’re interested in trying private virtual yoga or meditation or would like to know more information, send me a message or call (973) 476-8661

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