Stand straight and tall with your shoulders back. Keep your head level and in line with your body. Pull in your abdomen. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart.
Both your upper and lower back should be straight. Slight curves in the small of your back and at your shoulder blades are normal. Your hips need to be in good alignment with your shoulders and with your knees. Look down at your knees and check that they line up with the middle of your ankle.
Even if your posture has been a problem for years, it's possible to make improvements. Rounded shoulders and a hunched stance may seem like they're set in stone by the time we reach a certain age, and you may feel you've missed the boat for better posture. But there's a good chance you can still stand up taller.
Changing your daily routine can help you feel better quickly. “But making a habit of good posture may take some time,” says Dr. Bang. As with any other exercise routine, it takes about four to six weeks to see real change.
Good posture should actually feel relaxed and easy. When you have good posture, your bones, not your muscles, keep your body upright and balanced. Even though you're sitting and standing straighter than you usually do, you shouldn't feel tense or strained.
And there's a reason for this: your body is trained to believe that your not-so-great way of sitting or standing is “normal” so anything that isn't that (i.e. sitting up straight) feels uncomfortable because your muscles aren't trained to keep your torso supported in that manner.
Good posture goes a long way in how others perceive you. Standing up straight projects confidence, authority, and poise, while slouching makes you look unprofessional and disinterested. Roll both shoulders back and avoid looking tense by allowing your upper body muscles to relax while maintaining firmness in your core.
Practice Proper Posture: Standing or sitting straight with your shoulders back and your head held up, nonverbally reflects your confidence. It doesn't matter how tall you are, when your posture is straight and aligned, instead of shoulders slumped and head down, you will appear in control and confident.
When people are confident, they tend to stand up straight, they have open postures, and they may open their arms and really use the space in which they are standing. When people have low confidence, they may tend to cross their arms, sit in a hunch, cross their legs, fiddle or keep their eyes down.
Strong leaders convey their self-confidence and strength subtly but clearly through their posture. An outstretched, open posture projects an image of power and confidence. Legs slightly apart, hands on hips (think wonder woman), or making a wide gestures make you look like you are in charge.
It's a common misconception when solving postural issues in the spine that going through a correction process will be painful. In reality, when done properly, this couldn't be further from the truth.
This is because when you slouch, some of your muscles tighten while others loosen. This muscular imbalance makes it so that your shoulder muscles can't produce the same amount of force as they would be able to if they were balanced.
If you feel it is exhausting whenever you try to maintain a good posture, it's probably because you are trying to keep your back fully straight. Trying to keep your back/spine fully straight is actually as detrimental to your back as a slouched posture.
During correct posture, the shoulder's elevation, drooping, or movement does not occur. The middle back has a slightly concave curve, and there is no big hunch in the correct posture. The pelvis is maintained in a proper alignment instead of backward or forward tilts.
These ligaments are what normally keep a person's back straight, and when they are stretched, the muscles in the back have to work harder to maintain good posture. This is why it feels like so much work to sit up straight, and seems so relatively comfortable to slouch.
It is possible that sleeping on the floor may improve posture. Indeed, the spine is more prone to curving on a soft surface, so sleeping on a firmer surface may help align and straighten the neck and spine.
Good posture not only elevates stress and pain in your neck and back but it can change your physical height. A straight back will allow you to stand as much as two inches taller.
Body Language that Signals Weakness and Negativity:
Slumping. Making yourself small. Touching your face or neck. Folding your arms.
Look out for body language cues that signal that he is uncomfortable or disinterested in your interactions. He may try to move away from you, cross his arms in front of him, or turn away from you while you are talking. He may also try to avoid physical contact, like a hug or you touching his arm, he is not interested.
Gestures. Gestures can be some of the most direct and obvious body language signals. Waving, pointing, and using the fingers to indicate numerical amounts are all very common and easy to understand gestures.
Sexual pleasure is amplified when you're confident.
If you know how to work it yourself, the person you're bringing to the sack will be able to know exactly how you want it. Whether you're sleeping with someone for the first time or with a consistent partner, whom you're banging will notice your body confidence.
Confident people have a true sense of self. They know what they like and they more importantly know what they don't like. They know what they are good at, and know when to ask for help. Make time to find out who you are, what you like and where you want to go.