Perk up your posture

There’s no question that good posture empowers, and when you carry yourself confidently the world knows you’re feeling good about yourself. If you’ve never managed to break the slouching habit you developed as a child, though, it’s not too late to learn. To help boost your posture as well as your esteem, we’ve compiled a series of exercises from various practices that help lengthen and strengthen your body and improve alignment. Embrace any or all of these disciplines and you’ll notice a difference straightaway.

The discipline: The Alexander Technique

‘One of the primary aims of the Alexander Technique is to make good posture easy to attain,’ says Sabrina Kiefer of The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique in London. ‘It’s a practical method for improving the way we carry ourselves in everyday life through learning how to change habits that can potentially harm alignment,’ she adds. During a one-on-one session, the teacher will help you ‘unlearn’ current postural positions that cause muscle tension and figure out your body’s optimum way of moving. The process is quite slow and can take weeks – even up to 30 lessons – before you feel proficient at putting this into practice on your own.

During the first session, the instructor will scrutinise the way you stand, walk, sit and lie, and then he or she will gently guide your body into the correct pattern of movement. The concept of this technique involves practising how to use your body’s muscles with the least amount of effort. Teachers recommend doing the following exercise for 15 to 20 minutes a day. Over time, this exercise can add an inch or more to your height.

The move: Lie on the floor with your head balanced on a pile of paperback books stacked about as high as your hand span. Gently rest your hands on either side of your navel and bring your feet in towards your buttocks so that your knees point up towards the ceiling. Try to become aware of any tension in your body. As you feel it, don’t try to correct your position. Instead, think about your spine lengthening and the tension disappearing.

What it does: Staying in this position for about 20 minutes will help you isolate aches and pains, which usually signal imbalances in your body, and teach you what it feels like for your body to be balanced. The aim is to eventually walk, stand and sit in this same symmetrical way.

For more information: Contact The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique in London (0207 284 3338) for a list of qualified instructors, or visit their website at www.stat.org.uk