Did you know that better posture can improve your health, mood, self-confidence and appearance? Try this 30-day posture challenge to cultivate a healthy habit with lasting benefits.
I’m starting a 30-day posture improvement challenge because I’ve been slouching for decades. Here’s the BACK story (see what I did there?):
“Stand up straight!”
I think my mom said it 1,248 times during my adolescence. I did the math. Did I listen? No, not really. Her advice usually earned an eye roll and maybe even “a huffy breath,” not a dedicated effort to straighten my back. Now, I wish I had taken the time to work on my posture all those years ago.
When I was 12 or 13, I got a sudden growth spurt. Walking the halls as a seventh grader at John Marshall Junior High School (go Thunderbirds), I noticed I was taller than most other kids, even the boys. I began attempting to look shorter than I really was.
Dumb, huh? What was 13-year-old me thinking?
With decades of slouching and thousands of hours spent hunched over computers, my ability to “STAND UP STRAIGHT” has been seriously compromised.
If only I’d listened to Mom… In doing a little research for this post, I learned that a golf-ball sized bump at the base of my neck was caused by my slouching! I don’t want to end up with a full-blown hump. The bump can be eliminated by exercise! Who knew?
I’ve had this idea of a 30-day posture challenge for more than a year, but I kept avoiding it. I don’t like adding items to the list of things that must be done. My list already has LOTS of “to dos” that never get checked off. But this idea kept nagging at me.
Since my layoff, I have a lot more time to devote to projects but not the funds to tackle major home improvement items. What cheap or free projects can I accomplish?
For Christmas – two months before I got laid off – we finally replaced our old, kinda broken DVD player with a new model that plays Netflix, Prime Video and (the big one here) YouTube. Finding free workouts on posture improvement is easy when I could follow along on my TV instead of on my laptop.
Why work to improve your posture?
- A healthy back: People with good posture have fewer problems with back pain. Good posture also distributes your weight more evenly over your muscles and bones so you don’t put too much stress on any one part.
- Improve breathing and digestion: Standing and sitting up straight makes proper breathing easier. You can’t take full breaths slumped over. Slouching also slows digestion because the abdomen is compressed.
- Decreased fatigue, better energy: You can feel more energetic and less depressed just by standing or sitting up straighter. A 2012 study from San Francisco State University determined that slouching contributed to a depressed mood while walking in a more upright position reversed the negative outlook.
- More confidence: If you stand up straight, others perceive you as more confident AND you feel more confident. Win-win.
- Look better in your clothes: You look taller and slimmer when you use good posture.
The 30 Day Posture Challenge
Those are LOTS of great reasons to do what my mom told me to do.
Many posture exercises involve standing against a wall and moving your arms like this.
That’s why I’m planning to work on my posture for 30 days in an attempt to make a noticeable difference in how I feel.
I plan to perform posture exercises for at least 10 minutes a day for the next 30 days.
Here are some of the YouTube videos I plan to use:
Three minute posture correction exercises are designed to do twice a day.
When I have a little more time, I really like this 17 minute Fitness Blender Posture Workout.
If you have a little money to spend, this could be a great option. The Power of Posture has a number of free videos on YouTube like this one on how to get rid of a neck hump or you can find more videos and inexpensive tools on the website thepowerofposture.net. They have a 30 days to better posture system.
Can I use the accountability feature of blogging to make a lasting change in my health? Will I be able to follow through on daily posture exercises? Can a 50+ woman change a habit ingrained over almost 40 years?
We’re about to find out.
