I frequently get asked by my practice members what they can do to improve their posture. Daily activities such as sitting for prolonged periods, looking down at our phones, and driving, just to name a few, promote rounded forward shoulders, protruding heads and a general poor posture. This leads to aches & pains in the body as well as decreased general neurological function. So how DO we improve our posture?

Below are the top 5 ways I recommend:

1) Stretch - The muscles in the front of your body become tight when you have poor posture, so you want to stretch them out daily!

Stretch your chest using the door frame pec stretch. You simply place your forearm on a door frame with your elbow out at a 90 degree angle from your shoulder. Then lean your torso forward to feel a stretch in the front of the chest and shoulder area.
Lastly, you can stretch out your neck by simply moving it in every direction - up, down, side to side, right rotation and left rotation. Another great trick is to lean your head to one side, then using the hand that the head is leaning towards, reach up and over and gently pull on the back of the head to increase the stretch.

**Hip flexor muscles** are those that run from your low back through your pelvis and hips. The best way to stretch them is in a “down on one knee” kneeling position, called “Low Crescent Lunge” in yoga. The front leg is your supporting leg and the back knee is on the ground in order to stretch into the back hip flexor. You want to keep you chest up & spine long as you lift up and away from your pelvis to feel the stretch in the hip. If you need to increase the stretch you can reach up with the same arm that the knee is on the ground, or you can guide your hips forward slightly.

2) Strengthen - The muscles that hold up your body need to be properly engaged in order to do their job. When we chronically have poor posture they tend to become weak and inefficient. These muscles include your hips, core, entire back, and deep neck flexors. There are a wide variety of exercises you can do but I will list my favorites.

Rows. You can do these bent over with weights, seated with a machine or using resistance bands or TRX straps. The goal is pull your shoulder back and utilize your rhomboid muscles, the ones between your shoulder blade and your spine.
Forearm Plank & Side Planks are another excellent way to build core strength & stability. Make sure to tighten through the lower belly and keep your hips in line with your torso rather than letting them sag. Do these exercises with your knees on the ground for extra stability.

**Chin retraction exercises** are a MUST for re-training your deep neck muscles to hold your head properly over your body. You can do them with nothing behind your head, or you can use your headrest in the car to intensify the exercise by pressing the back of your head directly into it. Just remember to keep your chin parallel to the floor.

**Bird Dog (Pictured here) or Dead Bug** are both great ways to activate your core & build strength all the way around, from your abdominals to your low back muscles.

3) Get Up & Move - If you work at a desk or are in one position for an extended period of time, make it a priority to get up and move around at least every 50 minutes. Go for a short walk, stretch, do a few yoga poses or air squats. Just get your blood flowing to prevent your joints and muscles from becoming too stagnant.

4) Do Yoga - One of the reasons I love yoga is because you move your body in so many unique ways that you never would otherwise. Movements like child’s pose, bridge pose, cat/cow, forward fold, supine twist, balancing poses and all of the warriors are so good for moving your spine in different ways and releasing stored tension. There is a plethora of different types of yoga and they are all beneficial in their own ways, so give them a try!

5) Get Adjusted - Over time our poor posture habits can create structural changes in our musculoskeletal system and cause misalignments in the spine. Correcting spinal misalignments creates more balance in the body and improves posture!