What is the BEST Posture?

When you think of posture what comes to mind?

When you think of good posture, what comes to mind?

When you think of bad posture, what comes to mind?

What do you think ‘the best’ posture is?

I had a client the other day sitting on the table. She was talking about posture and how she knows she needs to work on keeping her shoulders back more. I am looking at her thinking “What? Your back is straight, and you are sitting straight!” 

So I say to this client: “What makes you feel like you need to improve your posture?”

She replies: “Well, I need that good posture so my neck and back won’t hurt.”

Me: “But what if you didn’t? What if you didn’t try to always be in that perfect posture?”

Her: Blank questioning stare….

Me: “What if you tried coming out of that posture? Slouching? Moving? Never staying in the same posture for too long?”

Her: Blank stare….

Me: “What are you thinking?”

Her: “Of all the therapists I have seen, no one has ever said THAT to me. Everyone has always told me to always keep my back straight and my shoulders back, so this is a hard concept to accept.”

Here are my thoughts. 

We as humans have over 300 joints in our bodies. A joint is there because it is meant to move. If we maintain a single and stiff posture all the time, we are doing a disservice to ourselves and to our bodies. 

Our spine bends and it twists. Our arm moves in almost a 360 degree circle. Even with our arms at our sides we can pull our shoulder blades forward, back, up and down. Our neck can move in all the directions. So WHY is there only ONE ‘good’ posture? I think that all the postures are good. I like what Morgan Freeman said - “Your Best Posture Is Your Next Posture”. Move all the ways. Move in all the positions. Use all the postures. 

No - I am not saying never sit like a string is pulling you up with a straight back and your shoulders pulled back; I am not saying always sit or stand in a slouched position. 

What I am saying is that it is just ONE of the ways that you can move. 

One of the postures you could be in. 

Listen to your body. 

Listen to what it is telling you. 

If you are sitting and your shoulder, neck, back, etc. starts to feel stiff; move to another posture. If you are standing and your back, hip, etc starts to tingle, or feel stiff; move to another posture, because “your next posture IS your best posture.”