The challenge and invitation this week is to become more mindful moment to moment of your posture. Do you really have a truthful picture of what your posture is like? We all see ourselves from the front. And, from the front, we do not look too terribly bad no matter how twisted our posture actually is. What about from the side? How do you really look from the side when someone else sees you from that angle?
Why not go to a mirror and in your natural way of standing, look at yourself from the side. What does your posture look like when you actually look at yourself in a mirror from the side?
- Are you humped over?
- Is your belly sticking out quite a bit?
- Is your head lunged downward?
What do your family members and your friends say about your posture? Ask them.
“Tell me about my posture. Is it good or am I slouching a bit these days?”
Perhaps your response immediately is:
- I don’t need to look in the mirror.
I don’t need to ask my family members.
I know my posture stinks.
What thoughts have been rattling through your mind as you have been reading about this week’s challenge? Have you been thinking thoughts like:
“Oh, I can’t do anything about my posture. I’m too old. We all know as people get older their posture gets worse.”
Challenge that thought form. It’s not true.
“There’s no way I have strong enough muscles to do anything about my posture. You know, I have neurological challenges.”
This thought form in itself is perfectly designed to ensure that you will be a hunchback permanently as you age.
Challenge all such thought forms. None of them are true. Everyone can improve posture in the moment.
How is this accomplished? I don’t think by going to one particular training session and getting a trainer to help is the answer. I believe posture is improved moment to moment. As you sit, if you happen to watch the TV or if you happen to sit in front of your computer, be attentive. What is your posture like?
- Is your back straight?
- Are your feet solidly planted onto the floor?
- Are you sitting on the edge of your seat where it is possible for your posture to be improved?
If not, why not for this week at any rate, sit on the edge of your chair when you eat? Many people have a habit of slouching when they eat. Why not challenge yourself with sitting up right and bring that food proudly up to your mouth?
Notice when you walk what your posture is like. Be attentive – how does your body feel? Are you feeling strain in certain muscles? Poke that chest out as you walk. Notice how your head will lurch not forward, but upward so that you walk proudly and confidently. Chest forward as you walk.
When you stand notice moment by moment whether it feels as though more weight is on one leg than another. This places undue pressure on one particular hip joint. Become attentive to your posture as you stand. Even out the weight from the left and the right and guess what? You’re never going to need any attention to your hip in the form of a hip replacement or supplements to repair damage to your hip joints. Healthy hip joints are a function of good posture and frequent movement.
The mindfulness challenge this week is become more attentive to your posture when
- Sitting
- Eating
- Walking
- Standing
It is particularly useful to be attentive when you are standing and simply waiting perhaps at a grocery store line waiting to check out. How are you standing when you are waiting while your gas tank fills up? Are you slouched? Shift the posture and see how you feel when you do so.
Become mindful moment to moment of your posture. Of course it is not possible or practical to be mindful every single moment. That intensity of focus would not be very functional or useful. It would also likely be stressed which is precisely what we are working to reduce.
But – if you can at a minimum be mindful five or six different times during the day it will be possible to shift your posture for the better. Make it so. Your body thanks you.
Robert
© Parkinsons Recovery