Good posture is about more than looking good or avoiding back and neck pain! We have known for a long time that poor posture causes imbalance, stress and widespread chronic pain and disability to our muscular and skeletal system.

The health of our internal organs is also affected by our body posture. The fascial system throughout our whole body holds it all together, and is affected by our posture. Imbalances influence the function of all our structures, including nerves and organs.

"The fascial system: is the richest sensory organ, distributes strain, gives you shape, holds compensations..."

"When you are working on the muscles (in deep tissue bodywork), you can't divorce them from the organs..." Tom Meyers, Anatomy Trains

The 42 Pound Head!

"Every inch of forward head posture can increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds.” Kapandji, Physiology of Joints, Vol 3.

The consequences to your body systems can be profound; back, neck and joint pain, chronic headaches, numbness in legs and arms, myofascial pain, as well as symptoms that seem unrelated to our posture.

Click the link to Erik Dalton's article "The 42 Pound Head"

Image courtesy of Erik Dalton, Freedom from Pain Institute. Used with permission.

What Is Good Posture?

For good posture, the ear, mid shoulder, mid hips should form a line that meets the foot just in front of the ankle.

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"A good working definition of posture is that it is balanced, efficient and vertical. Then it is an optimal human alignment that is able to meet the functional demands of both stability and mobility." Dr. Howard Makofsky

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This provides a center of gravity around the spine to bear the weight of our body with the least amount of stress. In this alignment, the body is balanced. Anterior and posterior muscles alternate in the load bearing and have a chance to rest. Muscle strain is minimized.

It is estimated that over 90% of adult populations deviate from this line and have some symptoms of forward head posture and altered balance.

The body adjusts by bending into unhealthy positions, but it can cause long term damage. As posture declines, the body loses the battle to stay upright. A cane and then a walker is required to stay mobile as the center of gravity moves forward.

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Correcting Forward Head Posture With the PostureJac

The purpose of the PostureJac is to help your body restore postural alignment and stability and transform your awareness of normal body alignment. It assists you to perform gentle repetitive actions that displace unhealthy habits and perceptions of normal posture as your body condition improves to sustain a more healthy posture.

1. Align Your Spine

    

   Alignment of the spine is critical for the function of nerves that travel along the spinal column and exit at the joints. It is also important in the neck or cervical region for the function of the vertebral arteries. They also travel through the vertebrae to supply the brainstem.

   Poor posture can cause faulty alignment or subluxations in the spine. Uneven pressure, obstructed or pinched nerves, damaged disks and vertebrae can cause a host of symptoms that result in chronic pain and long term disability.

   Inflamation that causes swelling adds further stress and obstruction. The body reacts to protect itself with muscle tension. The result is loss of mobility and chronic pain.

   Consider the difference in the neck alignment before and after correction with the PostureJac. A more vertical alignment reduces stress to the neck and shoulder region promoting balance to the rest of the body.
   

   
   

   The Turtle Neck, Head Turner, Jac Retract and Rotator Cuff exercises are designed to restore alignment and conditioning in the neck and upper shoulder region. They can be performed while standing or sitting.
   
   
   

1. Preserve Your Curve

   The natural curve of your spine acts as a shock absorber. Your vertebrae are constructed to be evenly spaced with this curvature. Too much or too little curvature places uneven pressure on the disks, causing rupture, bone on bone injury and damage to the nerves leaving the spine.
   

   Use the Rocket, Piston, Chair Rise and Hip Hinge exercises to develop healthy curvature. Use theRotator Cuff and Posture Breath exercises to overcome rounded shoulders and thoracic compression.
   
   

2. Restore Your Core

   Good posture requires good vertical lifting strength in the core. Declining posture weakens the core and it needs to be restored.
   
   Relatively little attention is given to vertical core strength even though core strengthening exercises and devices abound. Most concentrate on the horizontal strength rather than vertical. There are many examples of people with strong core strength and forward head posture. e
   
   The purpose for the core strength exercises with the PostureJac is to improve vertical strength - to lift the body back up to its original height - to overcome the sag; to overcome slouching; to restore alignment in the upper and lower trunk and into the neck. The JacBack Press and JacBack Stabilizer exercises are designed to protect the back while doing pilates-type floor exercises to build core stability and tensegrity. The JacBack Press can also be done in the standing position.
   
   You had perfect posture when you took your first step. It required the least amount of strength to stand upright. Poor posture developed as you gained the strength to support it without falling over. Over time, through habits and dominant activities (or lack therof), poor posture becomes a normalized position..
   
   
3. Maintain Your Frame:

   
   The alignment of our body profoundly affects our body health; circulation, air exchange,nerve function, digestive and bowel function, muscles and connective tissue, joints and bones, etc.
   
   Examples abound of people who maintain their ability for vigorous activity well into their senior years because of their mechanical health.
   
    Take some time to watch this excellent video that illustrates the importance of body alignment to maintain body strenth and overall health.
   
   

      

    

The custom designed PostureJac exercises provide a means for restoring balance and reducing strain to your body systems. Your overall health could benefit.

"When we see a disturbance in standing function, we can be certain of finding general malfunctions within the whole human system." Thomas Hanna

"Spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture..........Many symptoms, including pain, may be moderated or eliminated by improved posture."
See full quote on improved posture.