Take a deep breath - Your posture’s got this

The understanding that posture is important is quite basic. I’m of the opinion that just about everyone knows somewhere in the back of their head that if their posture isn’t good it could be contributing to health issues, even if you’re not sure what issues it may contribute to. As people often do, we then make things complicated. You might have heard some people (perhaps even some health professionals!) say something along the lines of posture isn’t important, which may make you second guess that innate knowledge in the back of your head.

Thankfully, those people who dismiss the importance of posture do so from a very poor understanding of what posture is and how it works. A simple demonstration of the importance of posture is to stand (or sit depending on how you’re reading this) relaxed and take a deep breath. While breathing, notice how easily your ribs move and your lungs inflate. Now, do what the traditional posture advice has said for generations, and pull your shoulders back, hold your head up high, push your chest out, and take another deep breath. What you’ll likely notice now is that your breathing is at least a little restricted compared to your first breath. Your ribs don’t move as well, so it takes more effort to shift them and more effort to get air into your lungs.

Even if the only thing posture affects is breathing, that makes it vitally important to good health. The truth is that it affects a lot more than simply breathing, but the downstream effects of reducing breathing restrictions are significant. Better breathing means reduced strain of the muscles associated with breathing, but more importantly it equates to more oxygen in your bloodstream for the effort you spend, which can affect the function of every cell in your body.

At our Chiropractic practice in Toowoomba, we see posture as the window to your health. A body that can stand upright without any effort can always perform better than the same body that is collapsed forwards, or straining to stand upright. If you think that your posture could be impacting your breathing or your health, book yourself an appointment so we can see what can be done to help you sit well, stand well, and live well. Hopefully you find your first appointment a breath of fresh air.