Head-to-Toes Guide to Wedding-Perfect Posture Every Day
To evaluate and redesign your posture, stand in front of a good full-length mirror, either undressed or in fairly formfitting clothing so that you can see what your body is doing. Remember the children’s rhyme, “Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes...”? Well, this rhyme can set you on the way to good posture. Let’s take it from the top.
• Head. Facing forward, make sure that your head is straight and that one ear isn’t tilting toward one of your shoulders. Your head should be balanced directly above your neck—not carried in front of it. To bring your head and neck into alignment, practice the following exercise. Instead of tipping your head back, tuck your chin back into your neck (this will make a bit of a double chin). Don’t drop your forehead down—your eyes should remain looking straight ahead. Start by doing it for about 10 seconds at a time. Try incorporating this chin tuck into your daily routine: in the shower, while brushing your teeth or while you’re stopped at a red light.
• Shoulders. Your shoulders should be at right angles to your neck and head. Is one shoulder slightly higher than the other? Lower it gently until it’s square with the other one. (Look at your hips at this point. Are they level horizontally or is one higher than the other? Try to square them up.) Don’t throw your shoulders back. Leave them where they are, but rotate your elbows backward so that your palms are facing forward. This movement naturally rolls your shoulders back to where they should be—and relieves a lot of upper-body strain.
• Knees. Never stand with both knees locked. As well, never lock one knee and lean on it. Such stances put a lot of stress on your body. Instead, try standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, lock your knees, then slightly unlock them. This will naturally give you the proper pelvic tilt, which will promote a flatter abdomen and normal curvature in the lower spine. If you are going to lock one knee, raise the opposite foot at least 5 inches. Put a foot up on your grocery cart when waiting at the checkout counter. When you’re working in the kitchen, open the cupboard door and rest one foot on the shelf.
• Toes. Your feet should face forward, shoulder-width apart. Standing with your feet and ankles together make your back muscles work very hard to support you. The postural muscles running along your spine actually have to work much harder when you’re stationary than when you’re in motion. Think of how hard it is to balance on a bicycle—with both feet on the pedals—when you’re not moving, and you’ll get the idea of what your postural muscles have to contend with. The last thing you want to do is add to their workload by standing with your feet together.