We may consider ourselves lucky to have been born in the 20th century. Had we instead been born in Victorian times, we’d have found it nearly impossible to slouch, slump or otherwise adopt relaxed postures without appearing strange to those around us. Instead, we’d be sitting at the edge of the chair, backs ramrod straight, looking straight ahead with absolutely no give to our spinal cord. While this may have done wonders for our posture, we’d likely neither feel nor look relaxed by modern standards.
But that sort of "correct posture" training, which became automatic after a couple of years of "sit up straight, head held high and slouch not" has unfortunately vanished from the usual physical training given to children both at home and at school.
One does not care to pull up a child both literally and figuratively, if he is lounging bonelessly on the sofa, while watching the TV, with his whole upper torso slumped onto his tummy.
Sciatica can come from poor posture, poor lifting techniques, awkward bending, or sometimes from a simple sneeze or twist that is done in the wrong way and ‘jerks’ the body
10 minutes per day
Fortunately, posture training does not require the pain or intense training employed throughout Victorian times, and need not be enforced through societal pressure to be effective. A simple exercise regimen of only ten minutes per day can create vast improvements in your posture, reduce back pain, give sciatica nerve pain relief and increase confidence, completely naturally and without drugs or surgeries. No one else even needs to know that you’re doing it. You can have great back posture, chair posture, and standing posture.
So to make sure that our neck and spine do not suffer over much in the future because of our bad posture during our childhood and youth, we have to look at the best way in which we can improve our posture, especially when we are sitting on sofas or in chairs.
Start to improve your posture the moment you sit down. Lift your head high, but not so high as to create unnecessary tension in the neck. You should be able to draw a straight line between the tip of your chin and the top of your lap. In this position, the head is oriented as it naturally should be relative to the spinal cord.
Now, relax your shoulders and make them fall away from your ears. People have the habit of slouching on the chairs, with their chins, nearly touching their chests, and the shoulders nearly touching their ears. This posture is definitely not good for your neck or for your spinal cord.
Next, focus on straightening your spine. The spine should be as vertical as possible, without much deviation either forward or back, so that its arches provide as much of their natural support to the upper body.
Now is the time when you need to tuck in your tummy. Not only is it not going to show up as a somewhat protruding tumtum, but regular tucking of the tummy, whenever you sit down does wonders for the tummy muscles. Just imagine that you are holding in your breath for a count of 3 with your stomach tucked in. This properly tucked in stomach is going to give support to your upper torso.
Tail bone strain is another factor that contributes to aches and pains, so applying extra pressure to this region should be avoided. This is accomplished by tilting the pelvis forward, transferring weight onto the hips. Ensure that your chair is tilted somewhat forward, and that the back is not concave.
