Choose2be Health & Fitness Blog

Learn how to do a simple posture check from the feet to the head, with a focus on comfort, movement, strength and body awareness rather than perfect alignment.
To maintain the integrity of the spine, it is essential to have a balanced posture that allows the body to rely on the “right” muscles and relax the other muscles. A strong muscular foundation will help create more ease in the body.

We will start with the concept of “bone stacking” or aligning the bones vertically to create more strength in the body. So, basically, it means trying to have a nice vertical line from the ankle to the ear.

In this article, we will guide you through a posture check from the ground up. You should stand with feet hip-width apart with the weight equally distributed on both feet. Try to feel equal weight at the base of the big toe, pinky toe, and heel. Lift all the toes up, spread them, and put them back down. You can try to shift the body weight forward and back from the toes to the heel and also side to side before finding that perfect place where the weight is evenly distributed.

Then, come up the leg to the knees. Are your knees locked? Make sure you keep your knees soft. A lot of women hyperextend their legs, which can create tension in the lower back. You can more easily place the pelvis in a neutral position, elongating the lower back when you slightly bend the knee. Also, make sure that your knees align with your second toe.

From there, come up to the pelvis. Place the pelvis in a neutral position, like a bowl of water that is not leaking forward or backward. Try to point the tailbone down, engaging lower abs, while keeping the glute muscles relaxed. Bring the rib cage down, engaging upper abs. When you breathe in, feel the air filling the rib cage sideways and back instead of just pushing it forward.

Roll the shoulders up, back, and down to create an opening in the upper chest. To have a nice posture, roll your shoulders back, turning the palms of your hands forward, feeling the upper back muscles firing. Then release the palms of your hands toward your body in a neutral position while maintaining your upper body externally rotated.

Finally, focus on your head placement. Many people feel tension in the upper back and neck area because their head is often pushed forward. To help bring it back, place your ear above your shoulder, try to tuck your chin in, and extend from the top of your head, making your spine as long as possible.

Try to commit to doing a posture check many times a day to engage the right muscles and prevent problems that might come over time from having poor posture. Remember to maintain good posture even while sitting with your feet flat on the floor. Stand tall, keep your weight on both feet, knees unlocked, pelvis neutral, rib cage in, shoulders roll back, and finally, chin tucked in to have your ear above your shoulder.