Posture, breath & movement - what's the connection?
Written by Chiropractor Christopher Wood
Where does your posture come from?
Postural ontogenesis (the development of posture from the earliest age to maturity) begins much earlier in human beings than you may think.
Since the 1950s, pioneering physicians and researchers such as Vaclav Vojta, Karel Lewit, and Pavel Kolar have demonstrated that postural control in infants starts as early as 4 to 6 weeks of age. And central to postural development, are breathing patterns.
“If breathing is not normalised, no other movement pattern can be.“
— Professor Karel Lewit, M.D., DSc.
What is “good posture”?
‘Good posture’ is widely talked about these days and frequently advised upon, and as a definition it usually means achieving a particular static position e.g. shoulders back, head back, tummy in etc. This probably looks great for the family photo album, but it’s fairly useless for most practical applications (tying your shoelaces, jogging, moving, eating a bowl of cereal).
The problem with this model, is that we’re thinking about posture as one image or one position – this is fine if you’re a cadaver or a statue in Trafalgar square, but for the rest of us, we should think of posture like a movie instead of a photo.
Posture develops alongside motor control (movement) from a very early age. Good posture should be equated to good movement.
Tips to improve your posture
Move more
You guessed it - if you want to improve your posture, improve your movement. For most of us, this means moving more, and this means sitting at your desk less (if this is something you do often). Sitting for long periods is a double whammy - it promotes sedentary behaviour which has been identified as a risk factor for increased low back pain and poorer mental health, plus its hard to breath into your abdomen using your diaphragm when you’re hunched over it.Stand up
Standing up instantly makes you move more frequently and breaks up the sedentary patterns of behaviour. It also improves your blood circulation and allows you to open up your abdomen giving you a chance to breathe diaphragmatically.
Shallow upper chest breathing, low intra abdominal pressure and collapsing posture.
Diaphragmatic breathing, greater intra abdominal pressure and spinal uprighting.
3. Practice breath work
Breathing is something we do autonomously (we don’t have to think about it) but stress, poor habits and a poor working environment can promote short and shallow breathing.
Actively practicing diaphragmatic breathing lets you create more intra-abdominal pressure. Like inflating a balloon, it can help you ‘upright’ your spine, as well as provide a valuable component of spinal stability.
Here’s a more comprehensive video demonstration from the Prague School or Rehabilitation on how to get started.
The great thing about breath work is that you have so many opportunities to practice it! The average person takes around 17,000 breaths every day – how you choose to practice breath work is a hugely powerful tool that can be used to improve posture, stabilise your body during movement, and positively influence many other aspects of your health.
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Sources
The Relationship Between Sedentary Behaviour, Back Pain, and Psychosocial Correlates Among University Employees.
Hannah et al, 2019.
Prague School of Rehabilitation.
https://www.rehabps.com/REHABILITATION/Home.html