Better Posture Means Better Health

If you suffer from headaches, backache, heart problems, arthritis and depression, all you may need to do is focus on better posture. Seems to simple to be true, right? After years of physical ailments, Frederick Matthias Alexander developed his Technique to cure himself of hoarseness and respiratory problems.

Alexander was an Australian actor who put such a strain on his voice that his career was in jeopardy. He was born premature and had many health problems as he grew up. Once he developed his "cure" he resumed his acting career and started classes to teach others how they can help themselves.

The way you stand and sit can have a profound way of stressing many muscles without realizing it. The grace and poise you are born with slowly goes away with age. Sitting at a desk for many hours in school or at work causes unneeded tension in muscles. Sitting on chairs or couches that do not support the body in an appropriate way can cause strain on the muscles, as well.

Simply becoming more aware of yourself can transform you and help improve your health. To start out, assess how you stand naturally. Stand in front of a mirror and turn sideways. Do your shoulders slouch forward? Try tilting your pelvis and aligning your shoulders so that your spine is straight. Now close your eyes and memorize the muscles you are using.

Face the mirror now and look at your body. Is it parallel? Does one hip seem to protrude out further? Try tucking your pelvis inward and make sure you have correct balance placement distributed through both feet. Do you have one shoulder lifted higher than the other? Try to even them so they are parallel. Now close your eyes and memorize the muscles working.

"The Alexander Technique Workbook" by Richard Brennan has many exercises to incorporate the Technique and extensive details about Alexander's studies. It also explains that the Technique will help to: move through life with greater ease, become more aware of yourself, prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your body, detect excessive muscular tension, find new ways of moving efficiently, recognize patterns of behavior and change them, become conscious of habitual ways of performing actions and changing them, rediscover the grace of movement you had as a child, and be truly free.

How does better posture help your health? Our bodies and minds undergo stress everyday. If left alone, this stress can lead to muscle tension. Muscle tension can go on to create or develop many disorders or illnesses such as hypertension, coronary thrombosis, gastro-intestinal problems, headaches, migraines, insomnia, arthritis, and backache. Treating yourself to better posture and better movement can help you stay healthy. With such a simple preventative health treatment, it's well worth the time to learn proper movement and posture to avoid expensive doctor's bills and pricey medications.