Posture stacking Exercise

Improve your head, neck, shoulder and back alignment and posture with this simple ‘stacking’ exercise.

Here is an easy practice to help you try to prevent shoulder, neck and back issues. The aim of this stacking exercise is to reduce the tension in the muscles and create more even effort in the muscles that assist in keeping you upright.

Here are some basics:

• Start from the ground up – make sure your weight is balanced evenly between the left and right foot
• Now check to make sure your weight feels evenly distributed between the heels and the toes of each feet.
• Check in on your knees and ensure they are not ‘locked’ straight but rather softly bent.
• Allow your tailbone to drop down towards the back of the heels and the pubic bone to lift slightly. You should feel a slight drawing in of the lower belly when you do this.
• Stand/sit tall, imagine you are being pulled up by a string through the top of your head
• Keep your chin parallel to the floor
• Keep a gentle curve in your lower back and neck
• You should feel the chest open up at the front as the shoulder blades slide together and down your back slightly

Now most importantly, RELAX!
These tips are meant as a guide to help you achieve a good posture but remember not to hold yourself in a rigid position, too much tension in your body is more likely to cause injury than prevent it.
It takes time to practice good posture so be patient with yourself.