Improving Your Posture and the Benefits That Come With It

As someone who has had bad posture up to the middle of their twenties (still working on it), it’s incredibly frustrating when you know exactly what you’re doing wrong, you try to improve but still catch yourself falling into the old bad habit just moments later. I hate seeing old pictures of myself, where my bad posture is so apparent that I look like a king cobra about to strike a prey.

I mean, if I can see it myself, I can only imagine how others around me see it – they probably think I’m too lazy to even stand straight (partially true). But the perception that others have about you is just an outside one, and in my opinion, it’s irrelevant. Poor posture can easily lead to a decline in health, and while I don’t have it as bad as I used to, I still have issues.

Women are said to be even more prone to having a bad posture when compared to men, but that’s beyond the point of this article. Regardless of your gender, you should strive to get a better posture, not just so that you can have a healthier outlook on life, but to also improve the many misalignments that you’re experiencing. For instance, a misaligned spine is a common consequence of a bad posture, and it can take a while to correct.

There are various different ways in which you can improve your posture – from wearing a posture brace, to visiting chiropractors and regularly having massages. You can also do exercises, which you can easily find online on sites like YouTube. Personally, I use a posture brace and do exercises every morning and evening (before I go to bed) and the results are apparent. The quality of my life has significantly improved, and while I still haven’t reached my goal, I’m getting close.

A posture brace helps relieve the pressure in the knees, neck, shoulder and upper back areas, and it helps re-align my spine. Even when I don’t wear the brace, I can still feel its effects, as my body is slowly getting “trained” or used to sitting in a comfortable upright position while at work, and standing with a straight and aligned posture is becoming a habit.

However, that’s just my case, and everyone’s situation is different. A support brace isn’t a substitute to physical therapy, so if you should be going to physical therapy, then by all means – go. The posture is something you can use to help you speed up the recovery process. But you don’t have to wear one only after things have gone horribly wrong – you can wear it as a prevention measure. Exercising and wearing a brace can be the ultimate savior for your spine and back muscles, and they can certainly help you maintain a better posture.