Back Posture – Chair Sitting Made Simple and Comfortable

We may consider ourselves extremely lucky for having been born in the 20th century. If we had been born in the Victorian era, it would have been well nigh impossible for us to slouch on the sofa, slump on the chaise longue, or sit around in various poses of lethargic, indolent and sluggish postures. We would have been sitting at the edge of the chair, with our backs ramrod straight, head looking straight ahead, with absolutely no give to our spinal cord. That must have done wonders to our posture, especially if we happened to be corseted, but it would not do anything to make us feel or look relaxed.

But that sort of “correct posture” training, which became automatic after a couple of years of “sit up straight, head held high and slouch not” has unfortunately vanished from the usual physical training given to children both at home and at school. One does not care to pull up a child both literally and figuratively, if he is lounging bonelessly on the sofa, while watching the TV, with his whole upper torso slumped onto his tummy.

But posture training does not have to be painful or require lots of discipline.  A simple program, ten minutes per week, can do wonders to improve posture, reduce back pain, and increase confidence.

So to make sure that our neck and spine do not suffer over much in the future because of our bad posture during our childhood and youth, we have to look at the best way in which we can improve our posture, especially when we are sitting on sofas or in chairs.

The moment you sit down in the chair, lift your head high, but not so high that there is a strain upon your neck. Your chin should be at the level of your lap. Do not crane the neck. The head is going to drop into its natural position apropos the spinal cord.

Now, relax your shoulders and make them fall away from your ears. People have the habit of slouching on the chairs, with their chins, nearly touching their chests, and the shoulders nearly touching their ears. This posture is definitely not good for your neck or for your spinal cord.

Now is the time for your spinal cord to straighten itself, neither backwards nor forwards. It should be vertical.

Now is the time when you need to tuck in your tummy. Not only is it not going to show up as a somewhat protruding tumtum, but regular tucking of the tummy, whenever you sit down does wonders for the tummy muscles. Just imagine that you are holding in your breath for a count of 3 with your stomach tucked in. This properly tucked in stomach is going to give support to your upper torso.

You would not want to put lots of pressure upon your tailbone, would you? That is why it is necessary to make sure that you tilt the pelvic region forward so that it takes on a portion of the body’s weight. This tilting is also going to ascertain that you sit upon the right pelvic bones.
Make sure that the back portion of your chair is not sunk in. The front portion has to be a little lower or tilted forward, so that your spine can get the proper curvature.

Tag: back posture chair

Category: Correct Posture