I’ve noticed that my posture has become very poor over the years since arriving in Japan. I’ve also noticed that the only people I know in Japan who have excellent posture are those who have been doing yoga or dancing (especially ballet) for decades. Unfortunately I can’t do either of these activities right now, because of a chronic health condition.
I do stretches in bed but I don’t think they are helping very much.
How do you improve your posture organically, in everyday life?
7 comments
There are all sorts of back supporters. Some cinch around the waist and others crisscross your upper back. I usually see them in catalogs. Really big in the farming community.
Otherwise, you probably need to improve your core. Talk with your doctor next time about what you can do.
I’m no doctor nor do I have exemplary posture but,
My understanding is that the posture is 2 things :
– A mental constant reminder, put your back straight every time you realise
– your back’s normal position. If you were to muscle up, your back would be naturally straighter.
When I get backache I do this one exercise (I call it the superman for obvious reason) : lay down on the floor, on your belly, head facing down. Put your arms up. Raise your hands, head, and legs from the floor.
Hold it up for 30sec, a bit like a plank really.
It helps for backaches to do it for a bit, but do that a few times and I’m sure it will help you muscle up too.
Hopefully it doesn’t clash with the health condition you mentioned.
Get some lightweight exercise bands and do face pulls (the internet will show you how).
Do pullups with arched back, chest out, almost like a rowing movement. Try to get your chest to the bar, as opposed to rounding in your shoulders just to get your chin above the bar. If too hard, do inverted rows on lower bars.
[This kind of stuff worked for me](https://www.amazon.com/Posture-Belt/s?k=Posture+Belt), but it’s annoying.
Youtube an exercise called Wall Angels. Depending on your current posture, you may want to look at how you can do progressions to make sure you’re keeping form (all parts of your back should remain flat against the wall). Do that for 5-10 minutes a few times a day and it’ll straighten you out.
Also, be mindful of how you sit and engage your core and glutes when you walk. Keep your chin tucked when just walking around to help reduce forward head/neck lean (very common nowadays).
Ballet dancers’ postures look so forced and rigid to me. I wouldn’t call that a good or healthy posture. They’re beautiful tho. I also don’t get how your deteriorating posture has anything to do with living in Japan because if you stay sedentary and less active for a while, your body adapts and lose its integrity regardless of where you live. Maybe try to strengthen your core, postural muscles to improve your alignment? Resistance bands are cheap and effective. You can easily adjust the resistance level to incorporate into your daily routine.
Here are some easy lifestyle choices you can make. First, sit on the floor when you watch TV/read. Second, sit more toward the edge of your chair occasionally if you work at a desk.
There are a whole list of exercises you can do. Since that might be difficult, you can look into Original Strength. The six point rocking and all of the variations that they have are great. They have a good YouTube channel but I recommend their books. If you can’t do pull-ups, you should really try to hang from a bar every day. Since I doubt you have a pull up bar, that’s also a great excuse to go for a walk.