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Correct Sitting

Mood sometimes results in poor posture in the upper body, because posture is a physical expression of a mental state. When people are depressed, they tend to slump; suddenly lifting the head and straightening the shoulders may feel like a false attempt to appear cheerful. Yet sitting upright does more than align the bones and muscles, it makes the breathing more effective because the passage of the air is not obstructed. This allows the diaphragm to move freely, improving circulation and stimulating the body's neuroelectrical system.

It can be difficult to judge whether one's own posture is good or needs some correction. The paper cup test is a good way of finding out. Some people tend to sit, stand, and walk with their head and shoulders thrown right back, so a paper cup balanced on the crown of the head tends to slide off backward. The cup will slide forward from the head of anyone who habitually slumps. Anyone who has developed bad posture habits over a number of years needs to stretch the cramped muscles and retrain them over time. Exercise routines to do this a quite simple and extremely effective as long as they a carried out regularly.

Many of the asanas are performed sitting on the floor, on the heels or in one the many cross-legged positions that have evolved ov the centuries, so it is necessary to learn to sit in different ways. Good posture is the key, for it is impossible to perform the seated asanas correctly until correct sitting has become a way of life.

The spine is not a straight column but an extraordinarily flexible structure of 33 small bones called vertebrae, which are cushioned by disks of cartilage and bound together by tough fibers called ligaments. The spine has two major curves: the cervical vertebrae curve forward and the thoracic vertebrae curve backward; while the lumbar section curves forward and the pelvic section backward. Attached to the vertebrae are several groups of muscles which control the spinal movements. The lumbar curve is more pronounced in women than in men, and the lumbar section of the spine is subjected to most pressure when posture is poor, especially when lifting heavy objects.

The body is designed to sit with the shoulders straight and the back, neck, and head upright. The opposing pull of all the muscles balance out and align the bones correctly when the body is seated upright. This does mean that you should strive to straighten your back because the spine has two curves, A well-designed chair can take a lot of hard work of sitting correctly, so check that all chairs you sit regularly are ergonomically designed. A poor designed chair will quickly feel uncomfortable, and is better to use your own muscle power to sit rather than slump against a badly shaped and proportioned chair back.

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Stop pushing it

Mark Goldman was a relative newcomer to yoga when he found himself teetering in the standing lotus pose with an instructor barking over him like a drill sergeant. "You can get into this pose," the yogi said. "Push harder."