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| photo courtesy of huffington post |
When you want to change your attitude and the way that people act around you, work on your posture! This is one of the easiest physical changes to do, but you do have to commit to the task. Improving posture involves working on the core, which includes the front abdominal muscles and it involves working the back, too. In many cases, the back is under developed, which is why so many people slouch forward. It is also necessary to focus on the shoulders, too. Here are a few exercises that you can do:
Backbend.
You do not have to do exercises that gymnasts do to work on your back. One easy backbend to incorporate in your life involves lying flat on your belly with your legs straight behind you and your arms on the floor with your fingers reaching for your toes. Squeeze your inner thighs, knees, heels, and toes together as you lift your head, shoulders, and check up off of the floor. Reach your arms back toward your heels and keep squeezing the lower body together. Hold for a few breaths and lower back down. Repeat one more time.
Forward bend.
Instead of doing crunches, this exercise will strengthen the core nicely. For this forward bend, you need to stand up and step your right leg forward about two to three feet. Keep the right toes pointing forward, but turn the left toes out at a 45 degree angle. Square your hips. Then, reach your arms up over your head and interlace your fingers. Squeeze your arms at your ears, tuck your chin to your chest, and fold over that front leg. You want to push your forehead into your knee and push your fingertips into the floor in front of the right toes. When you lower down, suck in your belly. Then, when you come back up, squeeze the arms and hands back together and lift up slowly. You will feel your belly working. Repeat on the other side. Then, repeat both sides again.
Work those shoulders.
Some of the most enjoyable shoulder exercises involves using a wall. Stand facing any wall. You want to be about half of an arm’s length away from the wall. Reach your arms up and push your palms into the wall. Then, tuck your chin to your chest and push the hands firmly into the wall. Let your shoulder blades squeeze together as you strengthen the shoulders. Bring your hands off of the wall. For the next exercise, turn to the right, so the left side of your body is up against the wall. Reach your left arm behind you and bring it to shoulder height. Turn your torso away from the wall and notice the front of the shoulder stretching. Repeat on the other side. You can repeat these two exercises another time for extra stretch and strengthening.
While there are plenty of other exercises that will improve your posture, it is important to be aware of your posture even when you are not exercising. Think about keep your shoulders back and your spine tall. Mindfulness with help you just as much as exercises.
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