Improve your Posture through Massage

     I, for one, have horrible posture and not-so-great body mechanics.  I found some information about how massage can improve posture and I'm hoping this will help me as well as my clients :)

Body positions are vital to your health.  Becoming aware of how you're sitting or standing is the first step in taking care of yourself.  And it's important to realize that postural problems, over the years, can lessen your quality of life and, if ignored, are likely to worsen as you age. 

     Since all your soft tissue is inter-connected, a problem in one area of your body can affect the area next to it. For instance, the muscles on one side of your lower back can tighten, causing your body to adjust by twisting slightly. This affects your upper back and hip area as your body tries to compensate for this new position.

     It’s easier to observe poor posture in others because we are unlikely to be aware of our own habitual body positions. When you see someone bent over with severely rounded shoulders or with one shoulder higher than the other, you are probably observing a condition that has developed over the years. True, postural problems can be hereditary or disease-related, but often they are habitual in nature.

     Identifying the factors that contribute to these postural imbalances can help you see which areas need to be addressed and changed. Be aware of occupational influences, such as how you sit at work, and how you hold your body during recreational activities or during sleep.  Other influences to consider include tight clothing and certain types of footwear, as well as furniture that doesn’t properly support the back.  If you think of your body as a structure with your feet as the foundation, your legs as the main weight-bearing framework, etc., you can get a better idea how important your posture is. A building, that loses its stability, begins to shift, the walls show the stress through cracking, and in time the dwelling becomes uninhabitable. When it comes to a body, out of structural balance, those complaints in the back, neck and shoulder area might actually come from an earlier imbalance in the feet, legs, or hips.

     From board meetings to bunko groups, there's a lot of tension these days-as in neck and back tension. "Our necks and backs hurt, and poor posture is the No. 1 culprit," says Janice Novak, M.S., author of the book, Posture, Get it Straight! (Perigee Trade, 1999).  When you hunch forward, your body isn't properly aligned. "Not only does poor posture look bad, but it forces some muscles to work incredibly hard all day long while others get weaker," Novak says. Poor posture can put you in other slumps, too. "When you slouch, you're pressing down on your internal organs, which affects digestion," Novak says, adding that circulation and breathing capacity can take a hit too.

     Unlike other bad habits, poor posture can be relaxing to correct. Why? Because massage can help get your body back on track. Allowing the body to reinforce healthy and natural movements can be one of the most beneficial aspects of massage therapy.  Massage can relax and loosen the muscles made sore by bad posture, allowing your body to position itself in its natural-and pain-free-posture.

     With ongoing massage the muscles are loosened and relaxed-joints have greater freedom and pressure points are relieved. This allows the body to position itself in a healthy and natural posture, therefore avoiding the movements and positions developed over time as a reaction to the pain.

Benefits of Improved Posture:

    Muscles are loosened and relaxed
    Joints enjoy greater freedom
    Pressure points are relieved