Alternative Health Blog

That resounding whoosh you hear? Our exercise programs getting away from us with busy schedules at home, work or both.

But you can fitness can be part of every day. Make it a point to practice good posture. Think of it as standing up for yourself.

“Posture is such a great place to start,” said Steve Barbuto, a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer at Olympic Physical Therapy, which has numerous locations in the Seattle area. “You don’t develop bad posture overnight, so you won’t fix it in a day or two.”

Even so, you can do yourself a lot of good by embracing a personal posture campaign. And you don’t have to make it obvious—“oh, excuse me while drop and do 20 pushups.

“The one thing I would recommend for any of us who stand for any extended period is to find some way to lift up one foot,” said Julie Gudmestad, owner of the Gudmestad Yoga Studio in Portland, where she teaches classes and serves clients as a physical therapist. “Get one foot onto something, like the rung of a chair, a step, a curb, something. Just doing that will lengthen the back and cut down on pain.”

Note that Gudmestad is not suggesting we keep a rigid form and that the knees are never locked.

Gudmestad writes the popular and informative “Anatomy of a Yogi” column for Yoga Journal magazine. She is happy to focus on small changes that can make a big difference during the holidays and beyond.

“Another good thing to do if standing for long periods is to clasp your hands behind you at tailbone,” she said. “Straighten your elbows and that pulls the shoulders and chest back and down. I call it the ‘chest opener.’ “

For his part, Barbuto said “lightly engaging your abdominal muscles but not 100 percent” can change your daily stress levels for the better. He likened your abs to “marathon muscles” best worked a little bit at a time over a long time rather than more intense, shorter bursts.”

“We stabilize our bodies from the inside out,” he said. “Abdominal muscles stabilize us, provide more balance and support. Most other muscles are there for movement. The abs support all of that movement.”

One common mistake we make, said Gudmestad, is moving our heads too far forward as we stand. The result is we slump, rounding our backs from the tailbone to the elbows. Taking occasion to clasp your hands behind the tailbone can offset that posture snafu.

As for sitting, Gudmestad said most people tend to “slide their butt forward to the front edge” of a chair, which bends the back into a C-shape. Her posture remedy is making it a point to sit on the front edge of your chair but sitting tall rather than leaning or scrunching forward. You can employ the hands-to-the-tailbone clasp to further enhance your posture break.

When eating, remember to sit back fully in your chair. If possible, place a small pillow or folded sweater behind the small of your lower back. This lumbar support doesn’t have to be much thicker than three to four inches to boost posture and prevent backache.

“Do the same thing while you drive too,” said Gudmestad.

“Ideally, that pillow or sweatshirt or towel behind your back will push the hips forward to line up just above the knees,” said Barbuto.  “The support back there is a great reminder to keep upright.”

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.