Achieving Natural Posture

An anthropological perspective on posture is almost impossible to ask for, but we have a heroine in Stanford grad Esther Gokhale. Just a stone's throw from where I grew up, Gokhale has been practicing perhaps the only anthropologically-focused pain center in the USA. She traveled the world looking closely at tribal cultures that are devoid of back problems and now teaches natural posture solutions for people struggling with chronic pain. Turns out, the way we were taught, by parents and doctors alike, is the way that leads to complications all over the body, from the foot to the back to the neck. Here are some key points for achieving a more natural posture:

Forget the S-curve. A true spine forms more of a J, where the bottom part of the J is your butt sticking out, and your upper spine is flat up all the way through the neck. Years of sitting unnaturally and carrying backpacks are the likely culprit of our modern incorrect posture.

Yes, stick out your butt. A bent-over posture looks timid and unattractive. Not only does natural posture make you a tiny bit taller, but it also makes you look confident and healthy, and it's better for all your working parts, including muscle development and safe movement.

Use your inner corset. In order to correctly pop it like its hot, experiment with lightly wrapping your core muscles to form a tight cylinder around your stomach and lower back. If breathing is impeded, you're wrapping too tightly. Instead, tighten your obliques while relaxing the rectus abdominus (the front of the stomach).

Breathing is an essential part of your posture. In fact, breathing will change the size and structure of your rib cage. People are told all kinds of things: breathe deep in the chest, breathe with your stomach, etc. The truth is that natural breathing is a combination of stomach, chest, and upper back. Go ahead and play around to find your comfort zone.

Hinge at the hip. Bending should not change the 'core' of your back. Simply hinge at the hip rather than the waist.

EXERCISE: Raise your hands in front to elbow height then move them slowly away from each other while breathing in slowly, filling your stomach mostly, and your chest and back, all the while imagining that the top of your head is being pulled skyward. Feel yourself get taller and taller, and then let the air fall out of your chest while maintaining the position in your back and stomach. Drop your hands, breathe freely, and feel the straight line of your spine and the firmness in your core.

For more detail from the expert herself, check out her talk at Google: