Is it Ever OK to Slouch?
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Me, age 9
Is Slouching ok...ever?
This is a question I get a lot and I wonder if people think I'm the Posture Police or something!
And the answer is...yes, it's ok if you slouch...sometimes.
I was thinking about this yesterday after Thanksgiving dinner when I was quite tired and I slouched a bit and crossed my legs. (Check out my blog post on leg-crossing to find out ore about that.) This wasn't a problem because it was only for a moment, I was aware of it, and I wasn't getting stuck there. In the photo above of me at age 9, I'm pretty sure I was slouching out of habit. It was unconscious and as I became and adult, I realized that it wasn't serving me.
Slouching is a way that our bodies can move. It's a way we can choose to be at a given moment. If you're tired and slouch for 10 minutes, that's different from slouching over your computer 5 days/week for 8 hours...but lots of people slouch over their computer for 8 hours or more per day.
I help people get unstuck from their habits, so they can choose how they want to hold themselves up or move at a given moment and not be stuck in the way they've been doing it for years just because it's what they're used to. What your used to can start to feel like "what is", but it's possible to change.
Alexander Technique lessons help you to become more aware of how you're holding yourself up and bring on lasting change in your posture and movement and you can start to make a change now while you're reading this email.
As you're looking at your screen, see if you can let your eyes soften a bit. People often strain their eyes and in turn tense their necks and shoulders by pulling themselves toward what they are looking at. Just see if you can let the image/words come to you.
If you reach for your mouse, keyboard, or to type on your phone, don't reach with or tense your shoulder(s). Just move your arms/hands/finger.
These are first steps toward better posture and feeling more balanced and relaxed in your body and for laying the groundwork in your day-to-day habits to avoid ongoing, habitual slouching...and if you slouch a little after a long day or big dinner...no big deal!
