My story of being "braced" And how it didn't help my posture

When I was a teen, I wore back brace. It was basically a hard, plastic corset with velcro straps. It was so tight and rigid that I couldn't bend and I often felt short of breath. I was supposed to wear it 18 hours per day and it was so uncomfortable that often I just wanted to lie down.

I wore the brace for 5 years. Maybe it helped my scolisis from getting worse, but it sent my already poor posture into significant decline. All I knew how to do was hold myself up like I still had a brace on, or collapse into a heap. No inbetween. I was uncomfortable all the time. I was finally able to improve things (a lot) when I started taking Alexander Technique lessons at age 20.

Take a moment to think about what you might do to fix your posture. Try it. Stay there for a moment and notice how you feel.

Do you feel rigid or relaxed?

Does your breathing feel easy or restricted?

How long do you think you could hold this posture?

The thing about posture is that people tend to be lookiing for the right position, but that can get you into trouble and actually make your posture worse.

If it's not sustainable it's not good posture.

If you feel rigid and like you have to hold the position or else you'll collapse, it's not good posture.

If it makes you feel like you're wearing a corset and don't have much room to breathe, it's not good posture.

Neither wearing a brace, nor actively bracing yourself with your muscles will improve your posture.

So what will?

Body awareness - Often our sense of where are body parts are and just how we're moving or positioning them isn't accurate...like operating with a compass that isn't pointing north. You can learn to change your sense of your body.

Improving Range of Motion - This is the opposite of holding a position. If your joints can move in their full ranges, your body will more naturally want to reset into a more centered position when you're sitting and standing.

Learning to make subtle adjustments - Subtle changes in how you move your eyes, head and neck are much more effective than pulling your shoulders back and lifting your chest. Changing subtle breathing habits can have a positive impact on your posture as well . You can help your body rebalance so that it can feel like it's support itself without "efforting".

And what should you expect as the result?

Feeling more relaxed, confident, and better able to deal with stress...
like you can breath more easily...
and that you don't have to "hold" a position

The OPPOSITE of bracing yourself.

You may have heard that good posture is good for your health...so reverse that and tell yourself that if it doesn't feel healthy (relaxed, stress free), it's not good posture.

Want to learn more? Check out my online lessons and classes.