<h3 style="text-align: center;">Good Posture to maintain the integrity of the spine</h3>
<a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3506.png"><img class=" wp-image-1782 alignright" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3506-300x249.png" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="214" height="178" /></a>In western medicine doctors treat the symptoms not the cause of ailments. I believe that a lot of pain and aches in the body could be prevented by checking having a balanced posture to allow the body to relies on the “right” muscle and relax the others muscle. A strong muscular-squelettique foundation will help creating more ease in the body.
<h3><strong><a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/IMG_3400.png"><img class="alignright wp-image-1756" title="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/IMG_3400-300x257.png" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="211" height="181" /></a>Have you ever heard of the terms bones stacking?</strong></h3>
Bones stacking as it says simply means to align bone on bone to create more strength. So basically trying to have a nice vertical line front the ankle to the ear.
<h3>First lets start from the ground up.</h3>
<a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3502.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-1781 " title="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3502-240x300.jpg" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="154" height="193" /></a>You should stand feet hip width apart with the weight equally distributed on both feet. To push this even further, try to feel equal weight at the base of the big toe, pinky toe and heel. If it helps try to visualize a triangle that links theses 3 points under the feet. If you are bare foot or if your shoe allows you to, lift all the toes up, spread them, put them back down. You can try to shift the bodyweight forward and back from the toes to the heel and also side to side before finding that perfect place where the weight is evenly distributed. <a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3503.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1780 alignright" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3503-300x169.jpg" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="141" height="80" /></a>As you will experience there is constant shift and adjustment happening to keep this position. Don’t expect your posture to be a static position but more a constant awareness of alignment, engagement and relaxation of the right muscles. You can also try to grab something with the toes to help lift the arch of the feet.
<a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3508.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1778 alignright" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3508-300x291.jpg" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="252" height="244" /></a>Then start making you way up the leg, stop at your knees. Are your knees locked? Make sure you keep your knees soft. A lot of women hyperextend their legs. That hyperextension can create lots of tension in the lower back. Feel the connection between knee and lower back. When you slightly bend the knee, you can more easily place the pelvis in a neutral position, elongating the lower back. That is not possible to do if you lock your knee. Also make sure that your knee align with your second toe.
<a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3511.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1783 alignright" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3511-300x195.jpg" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="248" height="161" /></a>From there keep coming up the leg to the pelvis. Placing the pelvis in a neutral position. The easier way to understand this is if you pretend your pelvis is a bowl of water. You want to make sure the bowl is not leaking forward, neither backward but to make sure that the bowl stays even without spilling. You can try to point the tailbone down, engaging lower abs, while keeping the glutes relaxed. Then bringing the rib cage down, engaging upper abs. Feeling the air filling the rib cage sideways and back instead of just pushing it forward when you breathe in.
<a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/imgres.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1784 alignright" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/imgres-300x168.jpg" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="300" height="168" /></a>Roll shoulders up, back &amp; down to create an opening in the upper chest. Something that helps me to have a nice posture is to roll my shoulders back, turning the palms of my hands forward, feeling the upper back muscles firing. Then releasing the palms of my hands toward my body in a neutral position while maintaining my upper body externally rotated.

<a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/imgres-1.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1785 alignleft" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/imgres-1.jpg" alt="Posture - Nanaimo - standing up - feeling good - personal training - personal trainer - group classes - bootcamp - pilates - yoga nanaimo - zumba nanaimo - dance nanaimo - great posture - posture nanaimo" width="144" height="104" /></a> <a href="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/imgres-1-1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1786 alignright" src="http://www.choose2be.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/imgres-1-1.jpg" alt="" width="188" height="115" /></a>Last piece of the posture is the head. So many of us are so much in our head thinking, that we forget our head placement. So many of us feel tension in the upper back and neck area because our head is often in a forward position. To help bring it back, place ear above shoulder, try to tuck the chin in. You might need to exaggerate it at first, like if you were trying to create a double chin. Finally trying to extend from the top of the head.
Try to commit to do a posture check many times a day. If you do that for a while it will become like automatic. It will help you to engage the right muscles and relax the ones that might be over used without really needing them. It might prevent problems that might come overtime from having a poor posture.
Even while sitting the same check applies. Just having feet flat on the floor instead.
So to wrap this up, stand tall, weight on both feet, knees unlocked, pelvis neutral, rib cage in, shoulders roll back and finally chin tuck in to have ear above shoulder.
From there nice deep mindful breath. Enjoy!

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