I cannot emphasize how important a sitting posture is. Most of us sit through the majority of the day when we are awake, whether at the computer or while eating or reading. Good posture doesn't mean that we are straight as a board. It means that we are able to relax and stay aligned at the same time.

For many of us, it is an effort to be aligned. And now I am saying to actually relax?! Yes, that is one of the features of good posture. When your bones line up, the spine and the sitbones take all the weight of the upper body. At that point, you are just subtly balancing by engaging the tonic postural muscles. On the other hand, if we ‘work’ at being upright, whether pulling the shoulders back as we were told as children or actively arching or 'slouching' our backs, we are creating tension through the whole body. If you multiply this by 8 hours a day, that's A LOT of tension.

So how can we achieve this ease I am talking about? By allowing yourself to 'stack' your bones. For some of us, it is easy and all we need is an occasional reminder to find the sitbones. For others, it may involve letting go of some of the areas that 'hold' us back. Literally. I find that the ribcage position and the length of the hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh can be instrumental in finding the place of alignment and ease in the sitting position. If you feel that the breath can get easily through your whole body, you are in the right ‘place’!

Tags: Posture, ease, alignment, posturease

Tags: Ribs, Posture, shoulder, breath, ribs