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Our posture is a real giveaway of our age. If we have good posture, we look taller, we walk better, we have a flatter stomach - because to stand tall we have to hold our stomach in – and we look younger. But the benefits to our health far outweigh the physical appearance of a youthful stance.
As we age, we automatically begin to lean forward because everything we do is in front of us – from sitting at a desk or sitting in a chair with our iPad, cooking or cleaning, washing our car, pushing a pram or shopping trolley or mowing the lawn. Life’s activities are in front of us so it’s not surprising that over time, we begin to lean forward as we walk. The problem is that if we give in to gravity it affects our whole body - shoulders, hips, spine, feet – the lot! In fact, our whole body gets out of kilter.
It hasn’t helped to have had a couple of years during the pandemic when we didn’t go out as much either socially, for work or for play. When we dress up for a social event, we naturally tend to stand taller because we want to look our best in our lovely dresses or whatever. Of course, during those lockdown months we dressed more casually and inevitably relaxed and that wasn’t good for our posture. Add to that the fact that we are two years older and that doesn’t help either! So, we now have some work to do to help ourselves stand taller and in a better posture, imagining that someone is pulling a string from the centre of our head toward the ceiling. (I had to smile at myself as I wrote that and found myself automatically sitting up taller!)
Adopting a good posture takes effort. No question. It takes effort to concentrate on standing taller and we have to want to do it. My hubby Mike reminds me sometimes, and I try to stand tall when I go for my early morning walk with our dog BB, but inevitably other thoughts come into my mind and without realising it my body relaxes into default mode.
Just like losing weight or getting fitter, we need motivation to encourage us to improve our posture. When a relative visited us a few weeks ago I noticed that his posture had deteriorated since I last saw him. He is in his early eighties and has always been very fit and is a highly accomplished sportsman. I am always pleased to see him but I heard myself bossily saying to him ‘Stand up tall! You’re leaning forward and that’s bad for you’ to which his wife said ‘I’m always telling him but he takes no notice of me. Hopefully he will listen to you!’ And indeed, as we walked around the garden, he did make a real effort.
This was a wake-up call for me. If I don’t make a real effort now, I can see myself leaning forward as I walk when I reach my 80s.
Mary gives us some brilliant ideas in her Fun, Facts and Fitness section to help us improve our posture so let’s make the effort together to make a difference.
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Young ladies with aspirations to a good marriage (or perhaps those with pushy parents) may well find themselves at a Finishing School where they would be taught the correct way to enter a room, glide gracefully around at a social gathering, and sit perfectly daintily with their legs correctly positioned. 
