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written by\u00a0Juliet Kaska<\/a>, celebrity trainer, health and wellness expert and\u00a0Vionic Innovation Lab<\/a>\u00a0member<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n More than likely, we\u2019ve all spent a lot more time sitting this past year than we ever have done before. And, also more than likely, we haven\u2019t been practicing proper posture while doing so. Who sits up straight on the couch while watching Netflix? Curling up can be cozy, but too much of a curled spine can wreak havoc not only on your physical health, but your mental health, too. Addressing our posture is a simple but profoundly powerful way to exercise self-care for both our body and mind\u2014no gym required.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re probably already aware that poor posture can have many negative health effects like back pain, headaches, compensation injuries, poor digestion, affected sleep patterns, and the kicker: deformity\u2014 think The Hunchback of Notre Dame!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If those weren\u2019t enough to make you sit up a little straighter, consider how it might affect your relationships, especially the one you have with yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Poor posture can directly lead to a<\/span> lack of confidence<\/span><\/a>, sadness and depression, and a lack of motivation. As if we needed anything else to slow us down coming out of 2020! Further, it can actually affect the confidence you have in your thoughts. Feel like your affirmations aren\u2019t working? It could be how you\u2019re sitting or standing while saying them.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Most of us were taught that sitting up straight gives a good impression to other people<\/span>,”<\/span><\/i> says Richard Petty, professor of Psychology at Ohio State. <\/span>“<\/span><\/i>But it turns out that our posture can also affect how we think about ourselves. If you sit up straight, you end up convincing yourself by virtue of the posture you’re in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, you read that correctly, the<\/span> study<\/span><\/a> by Petty and his colleagues, Pablo Bri\u00f1ol and Benjamin Wagner, concludes that our body posture affects our own personal belief in \u2014 and trust in \u2014\u00a0ourselves. When we are in good posture, we believe our thoughts about ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n “<\/span><\/i>People assume their confidence is coming from their own thoughts. They don’t realize their posture is affecting how much they believe in what they’re thinking,<\/span>“<\/span><\/i> Petty said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Remember those affirmations? Try them again <\/span>now, <\/span><\/i>standing up tall!<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, we can\u2019t talk about how our body\u2019s stance affects our beliefs in ourselves without mentioning Amy Cuddy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You probably know Amy for coining the \u201cpower stance.\u201d But if you haven\u2019t heard of her, or haven\u2019t learned about the foundation beneath that famous phrase, please watch her<\/span> TedTalk<\/span><\/a>, Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are, <\/span><\/i>it\u2019s the<\/span> second-most watched of all time.<\/span> Cuddy is a professor and researcher of social psychology at Harvard Business School. In her original 2010 research<\/span>* <\/b>she found that \u201cpower posing\u201d not only resulted in participants feeling better about themselves, but their hormone levels measurably improved as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wowzer, let\u2019s get to it!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Affirm and empower yourself daily by investing in your posture and so much more along the way. Here are some tips and exercises to strengthen your posture muscles. It\u2019ll help you maintain your posture \u2014\u00a0and your confidence \u2014 all day long.<\/span><\/p>\n These exercises will help strengthen muscles to keep your shoulders back and your spine elongated. However, because you also have tight opposing muscles on the front of your body (which will continue to try and round you forward), it is equally as important to stretch these opposing muscles, too. We\u2019re talking the chest and anterior shoulder muscles, specifically. The<\/span> first video<\/span><\/a> will demonstrate how to do two stretches for this area. You can do these throughout your day, as well as before and after your posture exercises below.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\nPosture For Power: An Upright Approach To Improving Physical and Mental Health<\/h3>\n
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