Advice on the proess for fixing your posture for good

Rakkum

Cro-Magnon Man
Cro-Magnon Man
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Messages
198
Hello everyone!

So lately I've been trying to go from average to excellent in terms of posture.

Some while ago I came to a somewhat frustrating realization that working on too many fundamentals simultaneously is not going to get me the results I want. I have read the articles here that explicitly warn of this but alas I was too greedy - too much, too fast - so I had to learn the lesson the harder way. Oh well, life.. Now I'm focusing solely on posture while other fundamentals are on the backseat.

I think Chase mentions three weeks as the time it takes for a new habit to get cemented. Okay, me and many others here aren't such learning machines! I'd be more than happy to get to permanent results in 4-5 weeks. I'm on day 42 now and while things are looking better it's still not what I would like it to be. So, I guess my process has had a few flaws in it.

This is what I have been working on:
* bring shoulders back
* straighten up
* chest opened but not too puffed out
* head up, not looking down
and later I added to that
* not being stiff while doing the above

What I've noticed that early on there were some specific trigger-situations where would I would focus on posture. Usually when I had some extra mental energy too spare. Leaving my house, walking to the bus stop etc. By now, I almost always remember to remind myself to correct myself by now. A counter-point would be sitting at the computer and getting some work done. It sucks up almost all of the focus and the habit-building process has been much slower in that specific situation.

So it's not universal. Neither is it unconscious. And the posture goes back from great to average after the mind's eye wanders off. Hard to say, it's possible the average is better now compared to beginning.

Some questions to the wise and experienced:
* Should you feel a slight stretch in your upper chest near the shoulder when you pull your shoulders back
* Or should it feel completely natural and effortless?
* Is it more important to go through the motion of consciously improving your posture as many times as possible or doing it less but focusing on keeping the posture correct for a longer time (as it does feel a bit uncomfortable)
* If the former, then how often? 20 times per day, 100? 500?
* Or more broadly how much conscious effort should go into developing a new habit/fundamental
* How would one know whether they need to do some corrective exercises? (There seem to be loads of videos on Youtube etc.)


In brief, how do you get from yourself from the clumsy learning phase to unconscious mastery as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Looking very much forward to hearing back from you guys!
 

Carousel

Tribal Elder
Tribal Elder
Joined
Nov 11, 2019
Messages
576
Look at the section about "Code of the Natural".
 

COCPORN

Tribal Elder
Tribal Elder
Joined
Nov 30, 2019
Messages
24
Posture is a function that is maximized for utility. If there is "nothing wrong", you'll have "good posture".

There is no reason not to. Your spine is under less stress balancing the massive weight of your brain with a good posture.

Bad posture happens when something bad happens to your being. You will see this in organisms aging: Things are not as good as they used to be. The question would probably then be "Why?". What is it that is being traded off when sacrificing posture for some other "benefit". Feel free to think about Peterson and lobsters at this point, because they are related. Your body will literally reflect your position in a pecking order.

If you want to get into this, I recommend reading the book Somatics (1988) by Thomas Hanna. People talk "a lot" (not enough) about the benefits of doing bodywork (TRE/COTN/etc), and this book thoroughly explains some of the reasons why you get "bad posture", what the effects are and what you can easily do about it. I would give this book a solid ten out of ten, and it is not a bore to read.

If you are actively working on "good posture", as in "Let's keep our back straight and our chest out", you are being a band-aid on something that is broken. Stop doing that, and fix the original issue. You are battling your own physiology.
 

Colt Williams

Tribal Elder
Tribal Elder
Joined
Nov 11, 2019
Messages
33
I second the recommendation on Somatics. It's strange to think about how many poor habits in our lives (physical and otherwise) are just symptoms of a much deeper unresolved issue. Going to the root takes way more work, but it's the only way to solve a problem permanently
 

Cody Lyans

Tribal Elder
Tribal Elder
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
140
Stretch, build some muscle, do coordination exercises, get in tune with your body, don't be ashamed of flaws, show them off.

The shoulders can roll two ways, roll them way over like an eagle, then way under like a prayer. The shoulders don't go straight back they roll in the direction I mentioned and then you drop them down. This pushes your hips forward like a cowboy, then you tip your nose up a bit and ignore what isn't directly in a narrow line in front of you, dip your head forward like a tiger when you are not ignoring.

It should feel freer than average posture and make you feel powerful.
It should express a confidence within, and be a soothing force to those around you
 

Rakkum

Cro-Magnon Man
Cro-Magnon Man
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Messages
198
Guys, thanks for the replies and insights!

I think it's just an issue of slightly weak upper-back muscles not pulling the shoulders back and ingrained poor habits. Things are improving!

Posture is a function that is maximized for utility.

That's an excellent way of putting it!

If you are actively working on "good posture", as in "Let's keep our back straight and our chest out", you are being a band-aid on something that is broken. Stop doing that, and fix the original issue. You are battling your own physiology.

That's how it felt indeed. I wouldn't say anything is broken per se, just could be better. As I wrote above, my guess it's muscular imbalance. I'll address that with some specific exercises.

Somatics is going to my reading list. I've read "Body Keeps the Score". If you are familiar with that one, would you say cover some of the same topics?



Aah, no way, it actually works!? I've seen this thing coming up in online ads. I was sure it's one of these here-is-an-easy-fix-no-work-required-send-us-you-money kind of things that's good for nothing haha!

Look at the section about "Code of the Natural".

Thanks for the reference!


- Nipernaadi
 

Kelsolive

Rookie
Rookie
Joined
Feb 9, 2019
Messages
1
Face pulls and rows. Any exercise that targets your upper back will greatly improve posture. Basic planks are definitely something I would include in your exercise routine as well. Don't forget to design a weight training program that hits every muscle group however, as this is going to be most effective at moving better, improving posture and the like.

First Post!
 
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