Life happened. Our bodies are sensitive to the injuries -- physical and emotional--that happen to everyone. Understandably, and usually unconsciously, we tense our muscles to protect ourselves from pain, or to guard against danger. We often retain such tension long after a threat has passed. Tension in one area can be conveyed to distant areas in compensation, distorting posture in the process. This can occur very subtly and slowly over time. This is why we don't notice posture worsening right away. But then some chance photograph or glance in a shop window shows us the truth.

The good news is that it is never to late to improve your posture. The New Rules of Posture shows you how.

Unfortunately, no. Though we've been taught that good posture is an ideal body position, that position produces an attractive statue, not an active human being. It's fine for having your photograph taken but doesn't work as a practical approach to living.

Posture is active -- it's how you use your body from moment to moment, not a static image you present. Healthy posture involves your whole body, not just your shoulders and spine. It is your ongoing process of moving with balance, rhythm and grace. You recognize healthy posture in the motion of elite athletes and dancers, and occasionally in the attractive movement of people on the street. You'll find out how to achieve it yourself in The New Rules of Posture.

People know instinctively that tension in their shoulders and poor posture in the upper body are linked. They think, “if only I could relax my shoulders, I could stand straighter and look younger.” And they're correct, but the answer often lies in a different part of the body.

An unappreciated cause of shoulder tension is the tendency to grip things for dear life, as if by holding on tight we could control the outcome of every action. For example, when we fail to relax our grip on the mouse between clicks, we retain chronic tension in our arms, elbows, shoulders and even necks. The same is true in our cars -- we use much more muscular activity than is necessary to operate the steering wheel.

Instead of holding on so tightly to everything, practice grasping things lightly, as if you could control things with just your skin instead of using muscles. Relaxing the grip of your hands contributes to relaxation of every muscle in your body, and ultimately, to better posture.

To learn more, see The New Rules of Posture, chapter 6.

Strengthening exercises will certainly make you stronger. But exercise alone does not insure good posture and, if you perform the exercises without awareness of your body's imbalances, you may actually train yourself into worse posture. Although our culture values strength over flexibility and coordination, most fitness professionals agree that all three components of exercise are important to athletic training. This goes for posture training as well.

If you enjoy pumping iron, it's likely that your body naturally tends to be stronger than it is flexible, and also likely that you don't spend much time stretching. But flexibility is what you need most. The reverse is true if you only enjoy stretching--you need to focus more on building strength. In both cases you should vary your workouts with activities that challenge your coordination. When you work your muscles and joints in a variety of ways, your body gains balance and adaptability, key ingredients of healthy posture.

To learn more, see The New Rules of Posture, chapter 10.

Having an expensive chair doesn't insure good sitting posture. Most people sit with most of the body's weight on or behind the "sit bones" (the two bony knobs at the bottom of the buttocks). This stretches the lower back the wrong way, straining it and contributing to low back pain. This position causes pressure in the abdomen that can contribute to digestive and menstrual problems. It also lowers the chest, restricting breathing. In a ripple effect the shoulders roll inward and the neck juts forward.

It is better to sit with the pelvis rolled far enough forward to sense your weight distributed in front of the sit bones and spreading out across the backs of the upper thighs. When you sit in this manner, the abdomen has room to relax and the chest and throat can lift. This encourages healthy breathing. The resulting lift of the ribcage provides a structure for the shoulders to roll back onto. With the shoulders thus supported from below, the neck, too, can relax.

To learn more, see The New Rules of Posture, chapter 3.

While there are many reasons for fatigue, poor posture can certainly make you feel tired.

There's a saying in architecture: "as the foundation goes, so goes the building." The feet are the foundation of posture. Most people bear most of their bodies' weight on the heels and feel little pressure in the front parts of the feet. This backward leaning stance causes muscles along the back of the body to shorten and thicken, stiffening the back. In compensation for the backward lean, the shoulders and neck protrude forward. A body thus out of balance must expend extra muscular energy to stay upright. This is both inefficient and tiring.

Try adjusting your stance until you feel your weight evenly distributed between the heel and front of each foot. This may require modifying the relative positions of your chest, abdomen and hips. You may need to let your chest come farther forward than you are used to. When you find balance between the front and back of your feet, you'll also achieve balance between the front and back of your whole body. This will automatically reduce pressure on your spine and lift your posture. You'll need to practice standing this way over time to recondition the muscles of your legs, hips and spine.
To learn more, see The New Rules of Posture, chapter 7.

The habit of holding the head forward presses the neck downward onto the ribcage, distorting the posture of the chest and shoulders and often causing a build-up of tissue at the base of the neck. In current work environments, people spend long hours staring straight ahead at computer screens. A narrowed visual focus combined with intense periods of mental concentration causes many people to crane their necks forward for hours at a time. Such neck strain can cause headaches as well as neck and shoulder pain.

To relieve eye and neck tension, take frequent breaks to look away from the computer screen and into your surroundings. It eases the eyes to gaze into the far distance. The eye muscles also relax when you use your peripheral vision to become aware of objects and activity in your surroundings. Relaxing the eyes releases the neck muscles, and this, in turn, allows your neck to properly lift your spine and head. You can't have good posture when your eyes are tense.

To learn more, see The New Rules of Posture, chapter 8.