What is posture training?

You have probably heard about posture training and you may be wondering ‘what is posture training’ and ‘what are the benefits of it’? Before going over posture training, let’s begin by going over what posture is.

What is posture?

Posture is how you hold your body in a sit, stand and relaxed horizontal position.

Good posture causes less strain on your muscles and ligaments, while also helping to prevent achiness and pain. If you have gone some time with poor posture, it can be a process to retrain your mind and body to maintain good posture. This is when you can use posture training to help regain good posture and best support your back and as a result, the rest of your body. Proper posture enables you to have flexibility in your muscles, good range of motion, strong muscles, and posture awareness.

What is posture training?

Posture training involves specific exercises and posture awareness that enables you to improve your posture. It is best to incorporate posture training into your daily routine, preferably multiple times a day especially as you are starting out. This helps you to activate muscles and hold your body in ways that you are probably not used to.

Now let’s go on to learn a couple of ways that you can practice posture training.

How to train your posture

Self and posture awareness

Though it can be a challenge, paying extra attention to your posture throughout the day is the best way to do posture training. Engage your abs, keep your shoulders back and slide your chin back as you come from a sitting, standing or lying down position. Conscious correction will help retrain your body and mind, leading you to proper posture and the ability to sustain it.

Posture training exercises

1. Shoulder Relax

How to**:** Move your neck around and let your upper body completely relax. Bring your shoulder blades back and then let gravity bring them down. Hold for a few 5-10 seconds. You can add in a couple shoulder rolls and let your neck roll from side to side for some released tension.

2. Chin Tucks

How to**:** Slightly tuck your chin in and slide your head backwards so that it aligns with your cervical spine. It will feel unnatural, but keep it aligned! Repeat 5-10 times and hold for each stretch.

Change positions

When you are in your daily routines, it is helpful to change your physical position often so you reengage and bring your attention back to how you are holding your body. When you are working, for example, stand up and stretch every 20 minutes, preferably with some movement as well! And when you are getting in and out of your car, engage your abs and support your body as you make the physical movements.