If you're like most of us, you've probably heard some old person, perhaps your mother, nag you about your posture. This is because they learned the hard way what a lifetime of bad posture does to one's health--it leads to chronic back pain. This causes special problems for women, even more so for women who have had children and may have osteoporosis or compromised bone density. Fashion has long dictated that we wear high heeled shoes or boots, because many men are highly entertained by a sight of a young woman's wiggling buttocks. Such men probably won't be around when you're fifty-something and won't be concerned about your aching back. So let the man have the boot and take care of your health.
The only problem I've found is that many advise givers, including drill sergeants, my own mother, and even some of the people who create web pages about good posture, don't actually know how to stand up straight. They may suggest moderation between the extreme of leaning too far forward, as illustrated in the David Levine drawing above, and overcompensating, bending over backwards, perhaps the way some fashion models stroll down the catwalk. I would argue that nobody with back pain ever makes the mistake of developing a posture habit of leaning too far backwards. I recently had to teach my mother, who has had back trouble for as long as I can remember, how to stand up straight.
Here is what you should do, from the ground up.
- Stand with your feet parallel, a comfortable distance apart (about the length of your foot) directly under your hips.
- This is absolutely CRUCIAL: Are your knees straight? If they are, then unlock them. This is the joint you should use if you need to bend your body, such as to pick something off the floor, so make sure your knees are flexible, naturally.
- Determine where your bottom is. If you're like our little friend Betty (at left) and most people who have backaches, it's hanging out behind you. Don't let it do that. Try to stop thinking of it as your behind or your "back side" or (as my ballet teacher used to call it) your derrière. It should be your bottom, as in the part of you underneath the rest of your body. Tighten your abdominal muscles and use them to tilt your pelvis under, where it is directly above your feet. You can do this if your knees are not unnaturally locked. Developing the habit of walking around like this will not only relieve the strain on your back muscles, but it will also strengthen your abdominal muscles, which is kind of the whole idea.
- Let your shoulders relax and fall back naturally so that they're in a line directly above your feet and pelvis.
- Hold your head up so your ears are in line with your feet, pelvis, shoulders, and the highest point in the sky.
