Poor core control seems to plague our population. We are the first generations to do this much sitting as we drive, work, play, and do other activities in which we accept a seat versus standing on our own two feet. Many of us say "Well, I'm just too old to be standing around all day.", or just simply fold to the body's impulse of wanting to conserve as much energy as possible. The problem that I have observed more and more, and I too am at fault as I fall to being unaware of poor habits, is the fact that we relax the core musculature more often than not. As we sit, we should have our backs straight by contracting the posterior stabilizers as well as the anterior (front) stabilizers. We should be sitting tall instead of slouching over or leaning on either side of the arm rests our chairs inconveniently provide. The problem is that we do it every time we sit, a poor habit that our body will become accustomed to search for this deviation of proper control. The less we are aware of our stance and our posture, the more the body's automation (habits of paths of least resistance) will take over crippling us over time. We definitely need to stop being weak and take responsibility today for the actions we can have control over. We should start today to become aware of weird body positions that we know are unnatural and we do simply due to habit. (ex. when i sit wanting to be comfortable in my couch, I fold my right leg under my body and I sit on top of it and lean to the right. I could sit unaware for an hour or two at a time.)
Correct Way of Standing and Sitting
We are also a population that have lost control of a very vital mechanism that we don't pay any mind as we do it and that is BREATHING. A lot of us have lost control of our proper method of inhalation and exhalation. And guess what the diaphragm holds a part of...? The Core. We find ourselves breathing "through our shoulders" by elevating the shoulders and creating tension on the neck and shoulder complex. We should be standing up straight and breathing through our "stomach" by filling our breath and letting our stomach protrude slightly as we inhale and allowing our stomach deflate as we exhale. The proper way to stand and sit is with our navel drawn-in (suck your tummy in evenly) like we do while we exercise. The only time we do the drawing-in maneuver should not only be while we engage in exercise, we should not allow the core to relax throughout the day.
The reason we do relax our core is why so many of us suffer from back pain and other chronic postural faults. We would be burning countless more calories if we were to engage our cores 50% more throughout the day. The reason we go around the engagement of proper posture is because of that very reason, it simply requires more effort. I blame the faulty habits we have set in place of posture to this improper breathing of our generations and due to this improper posture and improper shallow breathing patterns our CNS becomes susceptible to stress because of the synergistic dominance (secondary muscles breathing for us). There are many correlations between incorrect breathing and stress management and the evidence is clear as we are more and more a generation falling to anxiety, depression, nervousness and other conditions that fall due to emotional control.
There is a lot more to sitting than just sitting up straight.
The way we change our habits is one step at a time. So, in order for us to make lasting changes is to become fully aware of our body positioning throughout our day to make changes when we know we should not be leaning, slouching, bending etc. Every day make it a purpose to check yourself each hour or two. You could check yourself while you’re watching TV, browsing the web, updating your blog or whatever. At work every (if you’re required to sit long periods) hour stand up and stretch your body a little for a few minutes and when you go to sit try to maintain a good posture as long as you can while you work. The more in tune you become the longer the posture will stay with you.
A great way to know how to maintain good posture is to use a mirror. As you stand in front of a mirror, shirtless, try to hold your belly inward (drawing-in maneuver), chest up, shoulder blades back and tuck your chin as you face straight forward. Try to familiarize yourself with this position and find your “ratio” of perceivable effort it demands to hold posture, but at the same time try to find areas or muscles you could relax and not lose integrity of your posture. Remember, YOU ARE ALWAYS IN CONTROL.
Breathing a better way might become easier by focusing on the EXHALE. Yes, I know the whole point about breathing is to get oxygen to our lungs but you can’t get a full breath if the lungs aren’t completely empty. By focusing on Exhaling, you contract your core and your body’s automatic response is to instinctively fill the lungs back up, making it easier to inhale a larger amount. At first it may feel a little strange, even counter-intuitive, but trust the process and you will start to notice the difference in a few days or so. Remember in order to fill the cup half-full with fresh water you have to dump the old water which the cup holds, referring to exhaling your lungs as much as possible to fill them with a fresh breath. Breath is medicine.
