Teacher’s Diary
In one of my articles in the past, I specifically wrote about marking which is what teachers do most. How marking is taking their time despite working as many sixty hours a week. There are thousands of teachers in Nigeria said to be burning the professional candle at both ends amidst marking.
The relevant question is do you do yours safely? The natural shape of your spine shows three curves that form а shape similar to “S”. The first curve is the neck curve, the second is the mid back curve and the third curve is the low back curve. Such а curve or posture Ñ–Ñ• important for leading а healthy life. Sitting, standing, walking and performing various other physical activities in wrong bodily positions for a long period of time lead to bad or incorrect posture. A bad posture is the root of several undesired medical conditions. The list is quite long and includes improper flow of oxygen throughout the body, increased susceptibility to injury, lowered energy levels and low level of self-confidence. If you wish to avoid such health and wellbeing issues you need to maintain а good posture.
A correct posture means that when you sit on а chair your back should be straight, chest up and outward and your tummy should be completely tucked in. The simplest way to maintain such а body posture is to sit and stand straight maintaining the given ideal stance. Make sure that you put minimum possible strain on your bones and muscles. Also, use a chair that allows comfort and the suggested posture for long term purposes.
Posture correction exercises
Exercise 1: Stand erect. Align your ears over the shoulders. Raise both your hands straight up. The arms should be alongside your ears. Bend your hands at the elbow so that the palms touch the blades of your shoulders. Stay in this position for a minute. Perform this exercise to a count of 10 every day.
Exercise 2: Take а chair and sit on it with both the feet touching the floor. Make sure that you sit on the chair straight yet comfortably. Wait and relax for a couple of seconds. When you feel at ease, place your palms on your thighs. Now, move your shoulders backwards. Squeeze the shoulder blades together. Do both the movements simultaneously but slowly. Stay in this posture for a moment. Come back to your original position. Perform this exercise for posture correction to а count of 15 every day.
Exercise 3: Sit straight on the floor with your legs crossed. Place your hands on your thighs. You should be comfortable in this position. Take а deep breath and pull your tummy in. Exhale slowly by releasing the tummy slowly. Do it 15 times in the initial stage. With regular practice you would be able to perform this posture correction exercise to a count of 150-200. This particular exercise is one of the most simple ways to tuck your bulging belly in and correct your body posture.
Posture correction tools
You may find а number of tools for correcting posture used by physiotherapists and like professionals. They are basically of two types- assessment and correction. The assessment tools determine the problem while the correction tools fix the problem. Their regular and proper use will bring you positive result over time. Some of the common examples are briefly described as under.
Dowel Rod: The dowel rod is an assessment tool for body posture. It is a long and lightweight stick that is placed on the back to observe spinal alignment. It can be used to determine if you have the tendency to favour a particular side of the body. For determination of the posture, you may be asked to perform а few dowel assessment exercises. One such exercise is performed on the knees and hands. You would be asked to draw your belly in without creating any spinal movement. The dowel rod is placed on the spine in a vertical position. Lift your right leg and left arm simultaneously. Come back to your original position and then lift your right arm and left leg. If the dowel rod moves, the determination is that you favour one side of your body and allow your back to sag.
Braces: Posture corrective braces are usually recommended by medical professionals for posture correction. They are soft, non-elastic straps that are designed in a way to provide а secure and non-binding fit. They are often equipped with easily adjustable hook-and-loop closure, to increase or decrease the amount of support and pressure. The posture corrective braces provide support to the back muscles. They can be used both by adults and children. You are an ideal candidate for the use of posture corrective braces if your job requires you to sit for long hours, which puts a lot of strain on your body or you are а sportsperson who has to perform rigorous exercises.
If you have to buy a posture corrective brace, then go for the one that has а terry cloth protector. It will keep your back dry.
As has been mentioned already, а poor posture opens ways to numerous health problems. It directly affects the position of the body’s centre of gravity. This eventually affects balance and coordination. Therefore, it is very important to work towards maintaining а correct posture. You can use any of the above suggested ways to correct your body’s posture. The best idea is to visit а medical practitioner for determination of the root cause and recommendation of posture correction devices and exercises.
