Why Tall People Have Bad Posture And Tips To Fix It For Anyone (even If ...

Please also remember that this is not a one time thing. We are discussing posture, implicitly the spine, something that we use (hopefully) everyday, so consequentially we must take care of it daily as well. But enough about that, let's get to the actual tips and tricks. The first step is learning what you want to achieve. In order to do that you must learn what good posture feels like for your own body. The vast majority of people with bad posture, which is the population I'm addressing now, suffer from hyper kyphosis, basically slouching.

Tip number 1

a) Take a photo of yourself from the side, while standing and holding your normal posture. Don't cheat by trying to correct it before taking the photo. You just want to be able to see where you are at this point in time.

b) Take a second photo of yourself from the side, but this time, before taking the photo, imagine you are holding a long piece of string in your teeth. Someone is pulling firmly on that piece of string from above. Let the string straighten you up, but don't go up on your toes, stay flat on your feet and don't tilt your head back, just lift the chin a little bit. Now take the picture! I know it might feel a bit bizarre at first for your body to hold this position, but this is the posture you are aiming for.

Tip number 2

One of the most widespread causes of slouching nowadays is staring down at our phones. I get it, I love my phone too, it's an awesome gadget. The tip is the following: Instead slouching and cranking your neck down to look at your phone, use your arms and hands to bring it up to eye level. I know, mind blown , right!? This position might look a little bit strange to whoever is around you, but trust me, it looks far better than slouching and is infinitely better for the back and neck. And, as a bonus, if you keep the hands up long enough you'll start to feel a burn and get a nice shoulder workout that way too. Keeping your arms up for 10 minutes, even with a slight load like your phone, can be surprisingly challenging.

Tip number 3

Avoid sitting down on your butt in chairs or sofas as much as possible. This might be unachievable at times as no one wants to turn into the office weirdo for example, but do your best to sit down only when absolutely necessary. At times when there is no one around you to be freaked out by this, sit in a squat position or semi lotus position, even if you do sit in a chair. It will get uncomfortable after a few minutes, so keep switching between the 2 positions. Remember, even if you reduce your total sitting time by just 20%, it's still a huge win.

Bonus tip for tall people

Embrace the fact that you are tall. Don't feel compelled to slouch to get down to someone else's level. If you want to make eye contact, look down at (not on) them but don't modify your posture. They can look up at you with little effort and everyone is happy. They will not see you as a better person for modifying your posture in their presence, just as a tall person who slouches.

Thank you for reading my little rant, hope to catch you next time!