How I Improved My Posture in Just 3 Minutes a Day
Do you ever catch a glimpse of your reflection and cringe at your hunched over posture? I used to walk around with my shoulders rolled forward and my head jutting out like a turtle. My poor posture not only looked bad, but it made my back and neck ache constantly. I knew I needed to fix my posture, but most advice online involved expensive braces or taking up a rigorous yoga routine. Who has time for that?
Luckily, I recently came across a simple 3 minute daily routine that has completely transformed my posture. As posture expert Tyler from WeShape explains, "So many people spend their days sitting. The more we sit, the shorter all these muscles on the front side of the body get, and the worse our posture tends to get." After years working at a desk job, my chest muscles had tightened while my upper back muscles became weak and inflexible. But Tyler's quick stretches and exercises are just what I needed to rebalance my body.
The first stretch Tyler recommends is called the chair shoulder stretch. He instructs, "Bring your hands behind you and turn your fingers to the outside just like this. Bringing them on both sides of the chair and slowly scoot your hips towards the front of your chair as much as you can while feeling a stretch in the shoulders and ideally through the pec muscles as well." I make sure to keep my neck and head straight, resisting the urge to hunch forward. Holding this posture stretch for 90 seconds has really opened up my chest and loosened my tight pecs.
After the shoulder stretch, Tyler moves on to an exercise called the "Y, T, W." He explains, "From there, find a nice tall posture, hinge forward through the hips, but keep a nice flat back. It's important to not round your back on this particular movement." With flat back, I reach my arms overhead in a Y shape, out straight like a T, then pull my shoulder blades together in a W shape. Focusing on squeezing my shoulder blades has strengthened the weak upper back muscles that contribute to poor posture.
I'll admit, when I first started Tyler's 3 minute routine, I didn't notice much difference in my posture. But after sticking with it every day for 3 weeks, the changes have been obvious. My back and neck pain have practically disappeared. I no longer look like I'm trying to curl in on myself when I stand - my chest is open and lifted. I feel more confident with my new improved posture.
As Tyler says, "if you're consistent with this, you're gonna improve your posture and it's gonna make your body feel so much better." I'm so glad I found this simple yet effective posture fixing routine. If you struggle with bad posture like I used to, I can't recommend Tyler's 3 minutes stretches and exercises enough. In just a few weeks, you too can stand a little taller!