Square Up Those Shoulders!

Recently I was talking with a good friend of mine, Helen Bravenec. We got in a discussion about posture problems and some easy solutions to some fairly common issues. Here is a quick tip I learned from a yoga instructor friend about how to get those shoulders squared up effortlessly.

As Helen and I talked about it, Helen confessed that she usually stands with good posture, as the above video showed us. However, when I asked her to sit down, her posture drooped dramatically. So we worked through the exercise again, and as you can see, Helen's shoulder posture improved dramatically with this simple exercise.

Try this exercise for yourself. Here are the steps:

• Let your arms dangle by your sides.
• Turn your thumbs outward. As you do, feel your shoulder blades move to the back and "hang" onto your back rib cage.
• Leave your shoulder blades on the back of your rib cage while you return your thumbs and hands to the neutral starting position.
• Center your head on your spinal column until it feels light and balanced.

Congratulations! You are now standing up straight! Do you feel more confident? Stronger? If you walk like this, you will feel lighter. See how long you can maintain this posture in your daily activities.

Happy Posture!