How Can I Have Good Posture?
I like to answer questions on posture on the Quora platform where people ask the general public about anything and everything. This question appeared in my inbox the other day:
How can I have good posture? My back always hurts when I try to sit/stand straight.
It has to be one of the most common questions that Alexander Technique teachers hear, so this was my reply:
By recognising that posture isn’t a position, but a movement, a balancing act. Replace the word posture with poise and you’ll have a better relationship with what you’re after. Poise is as much a mental attitude as a physical activity.
One of my pet hates with regards to articles on good posture is the obligatory accompanying photo with a plumb line drawn down the side connecting the ear, shoulder, hip, knees and ankle (so ignore the image for this article!). It gives the impression that you’re supposed to achieve this position. You are not, that line is really just the average of all the points you have wobbled about. We can “wobble” with great skill and ease, the movement maybe be barely perceptible at times, but that subtle dance needs to be always available. It’s the attempt to achieve a held position that causes your back to hurt as it takes too much effort, and is ultimately unsustainable, as you’ll well know if you’ve ever tried to hold a “correct” posture.
