NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Around 80% of Americans say they have, or have had, back problems in their lives, and one of the most common causes is bad posture.
Our Mike Sugerman is one of those people who suffers from back aches from bad posture and to fix it, he sought out professional help and met Lindsay Newitter.
“I basically coach people on how to improve their posture,” she tells us.
She teaches what is called the Alexander Method, which focuses on improving posture in parts of the body one might not commonly think to focus on, especially balancing the weight of the human skull.
“It’s heavy. It weighs 10-12 pounds, and it sits on top of your spine. So, it’s like you have a bowling bowl up top,” Newitter says.
In Sugerman’s session, she explains that the best way to balance and create less back strain is to imagine there is a noise happening behind you.
“Just try to listen behind you. Imagine you’re expecting someone behind you to open the door and bring you something,” she advises.
She also told him to imagine there is a string on the top of his head that somebody is pulling up on – which he says helps immensely.
Then, there’s the focus on the feet.
Newitter says good posture starts at the top and goes all the way to the bottom, making sure there is equal weight distributed on both feet, standing or sitting.
“One of the biggest problems with people’s posture is that their body awareness isn’t quite right,” she says.
Most people try to fix their posture in their back. But, if you don’t do it right you can make it worse, she warns, by creating something called “backwards slouching.”
It’s when a person stands up straight and ends up curving their spine inwards.
“It ends up really compressing your back. Its uncomfortable, you might even feel you can’t breathe,” Newitter explains.
Holding your phone, or looking at your computer can also make you slouch. Therefore, she recommends concentrating on using your eyes instead of your head when you look down.
To learn more about Newitter’s technique, or to book a session, visit NYPosturePolice.com.
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