It’ll make you look thinner, taller, younger and it’s free. No joke.

When I was in India, years back, I remember seeing a man wearing only, what appeared to be, a dirty dishcloth tied around his waist. He didn’t care that he wasn’t wearing the latest, most stylist outfit (or dishcloth) he carried himself with the grace and confidence of royalty.

I myself, have bad posture and according to Janice Novak, author of "Posture, Get It Straight!", slumping decreases your chest measurement, narrows your shoulders, makes you look 10 lbs heavier and can decrease your height by up to 2 inches. It also makes us look old beyond our years (especially if we’re mumbling “get out of my way you pesky kids”).

So, what’s a girl with bad posture to do?

Imagine there’s a string connected from your breastbone and it’s being pulled straight up towards the ceiling.  Simultaneously, imagine there’s a string attached to the top of your head pulling it straight up.  (I attach the string more towards the back of the top of my head, to straighten out my neck curve.)  Keep your chin parallel to the floor. Move your upper arms (the part up near your shoulders) back in space.

This looks like a neat product. The only problem is the bulge under your shirt may land you on a terrorist watch list. 

How can you tell if your posture needs help? 

When you look in a full-length mirror, your ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles should make one straight line.

Another method -stand against a wall with shoulders and arse touching the wall. The back of the head should also be touching the wall - if it doesn’t, the head is carried too far forward.  (My head is so far forward and tilted down that it must look like I’m constantly looking for a lost contact.)

Spend a lot of time at a desk?  Make sure the desktop is at elbow height and sit with your shoulders directly above your hips. 

More graceful and confident, taller, thinner, younger-looking, and it’s free.

With benefits that good, I'm trading in my water bottle for a giant gourd.

Anyone else have any good posture tips?

Comments

[moi]

crossing your arms usually leads to slouching, so I "cross them" behind my back . . it's the same kind of thing, you basically grab your elbows. This pulls your shoulders back and reminds you to stand up straight. If you can' do it with both elbows at first alternate each one.

Everyone says I have amazing posture :)

[jenny]

Hey Moi,
That's a great suggestion. I'm a notorious front arm crosser. I'm going to do the back crossing from now on. Thanks for the tip!
jennyh