Take a look at your posture in this instant. Be mindful of it. Are you standing, sitting, reclining? Are you hunched over your computer or your phone? Is your spine straight? Are you looking down or looking straight forward? Do you have your arms folded over your chest? Are your shoulders down and away from your ears?
Modern life isn’t conducive to good posture.
I have a little life-changing posture story to share with you.
I’ve always carried my stress on my shoulders. Especially my right shoulder. Sore shoulders and sore neck was my “usual” for a long time during my corporate life. Just to make it worse, I also had a yoga injury early in my yoga journey (I will never again do a headstand or the wheel). There came a point where I had an extremely sore right shoulder with sharp pains and tingles shooting down my right arm all the time. Several different doctors, a panoply of tests, and a series of medications could not seem to fix the mysterious ailment. Nobody knew what was causing it. Nothing worked. The pain continued.
As a last resort, one of the doctors suggested physiotherapy on my shoulder. The physiotherapist looked at how I was standing, explored my spine, and she noticed that the natural resting position of my head was turned slightly to my right. She saw there was so much chronic tension in my shoulders, especially my right shoulder, that the muscles couldn’t relax and in turn they were pulling on my neck and forcing my head to turn right.
Then she told me to stand up straight with my shoulders down. She had to actually push my shoulders down and prod my back to force my shoulders apart, that’s how chronic it was.
And that’s when it happened.
I stood up straighter, held my head a little higher, consciously relaxed my tense shoulders down away from my ears, pulled my shoulder blades a little closer together. And just like that the pain was gone. I still remember the physical sensation of relief in my neck shoulder and arm. After all the tests and all the medications, it was simple awareness of my posture and a conscious adjustment that released nerves that had been pinched by tensed-up shoulders for so long.
I was in awe of how powerful this tiny adjustment to my posture was. I remember, on my way home after the physiotherapy appointment, standing on the subway platform experimenting with it. Not only was the intense pain gone if I stood tall with my shoulders down, I could breath easier, like my lungs were more open to receive oxygen. I felt the stress melt away. I felt more calm. Instantly happier! And I felt like a new person.
And that was my first step on the pathway to mindfulness - awareness of my posture. Awareness of the importance of standing tall with your shoulders down.
It was after this that I got really interested in yoga and meditation. And I’ve taken this posture awareness into my practice. In any yoga pose, and while sitting in meditation, a tiny adjustment to your spine, straighter and taller with your shoulders down, will allow you to breath easier, practice more safely.
But posture is so much more than good alignment in yoga and meditation. You just can’t imagine how important your posture can be for your quality of life! Standing tall can affect how you feel and how other’s see you.
It’s physiological.
Standing tall with your shoulders down can actually influence your brain chemistry! The simple act of standing tall with your shoulders down will trigger an increase in serotonin in your brain. And we know how good serotonin can be! Increased serotonin helps us feel happier, feel more calm and less stressed, more clarity, confidence and courage.
And this also affects how other’s see you. As you stand and walk tall, people, people will see a strong and confident person, no matter how you’re feeling inside. And this will affect how they perceive you and how they will want to interact with you.
I’ve been wanting to write about standing tall for a while and did a lot of research. I won’t take you with me on that deep dive down the rabbit hole but I’d like to share one thing with you: a Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are. She says: “Our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behaviour, and our behaviour changes outcomes.”
And she leaves us with this thought: “Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.” It’s absolutely true.
TRY THIS RIGHT NOW: Wherever you are, stand in Mountain Pose (Tadasana). Stand with your feet hip width apart and parallel, pointing forward. Feel your feet firmly planted, sending roots into the earth, grounding you. Then imagine a string attached to the crown of your head lifting you up towards the sky. Feel your spine straight and tall. Let your shoulders relax down and away from your ears and gently bring your shoulder blades a little closer together. Feel your long neck. Stand tall…and mindfully notice your posture. Stand tall and notice how you feel. Notice the sense of lightness and spaciousness in your torso. Notice how much easier it is to breath. Stand tall…and notice how you feel in this posture.
TRY THIS SOON: Take a walk, with a tall and upright posture, shoulders down and head high. Look forward. Breathe. Smile. And then notice how you feel. If you walk to work, walk this way. And notice how your day goes.
REMEMBER THIS: Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.
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