Back on track<\/a><\/p>\n[ pagebreak ] Back on track<\/b>
Good posture, on the other hand, gives you more than just a health boost. It can actually make you more confident and successful. A recent study by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University found that "posture expansiveness"—essentially, standing tall with shoulders back and chest open—creates a sense of power in yourself and in how others perceive you. This may be, in part, a result of changes in biochemistry. A recent study by Amy J.C. Cuddy, PhD, a social psychologist and associate professor at the Harvard Business School, found that standing tall increases testosterone and decreases cortisol, which makes you feel more dominant.<\/p>\n
Pilates is a good way to right your posture. Thankfully for me, yoga is, too, according to Dr. Kornel. All of your instructors' cues—to square your hips and lower your shoulders—stick with you in everyday life. Yoga also enhances flexibility to eliminate muscle imbalances (which can cause issues like my crooked shoulders) and strengthen the deep abdominal and back muscles that support proper alignment, explains New York City yoga instructor and Health<\/i> Contributing Fitness Editor Kristin McGee.<\/p>\n
The 4 biggest posture killers<\/b><\/p>\n
Your job.<\/b> Sitting at a desk every day, you tend to stoop over with your head forward and shoulders slumped. Doing this for hours at a time can knock you out of alignment and place excess pressure on your spine, says Dr. Kornel. Take a break every half hour, and walk around for several minutes. When you sit back down, you're more likely to do so without hunching.<\/p>\n
An overstuffed handbag.<\/b> More than 6 pounds adds pressure on your back, says Jason Datta, MD, an orthopedic spinal surgeon at Sonoran Spine Center in Phoenix. Toss yours on the scale and see if it needs downsizing. Or, switch to a cross-body bag that sits at your waist, Dr. Datta says. This way the weight is distributed more evenly.<\/p>\n
Housework.<\/b> Cleaning floors is the most tiring and, therefore, potentially hazardous household task: Fatigue leads to poor posture, which raises your risk of injury, suggests a study at Cornell University. At the first sign of fatigue, note your posture. If you're hunching, take a break. Lie faceup on the floor and hug your knees to your chest. Hold for 30 seconds, then rock back and forth to relax your back muscles.<\/p>\n
Shyness<\/b> Next time you walk into a party, note your body language. Are you stooped? Looking down? "When you're feeling insecure, you want to become less visible and that affects posture in detrimental ways," Dr. Kornel says. For a healthier—and more attractive—stance, mindfully take up as much space as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In yoga class not long ago, I was positioning myself for Sunrise Salutation—feet together, hands in prayer, gaze forward—when I caught my reflection in the mirror. How could I look so deeply uncomfortable in this simple pose? Granted, this was my first yoga class in two years, but I looked like it was my first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,42,41],"tags":[37,44,43],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}