MILITARY POSTURE MEANS GOOD HEALTH
YOGA POSTURE
MILITARY POSTURE MEANS GOOD HEALTH
by
Sanford Pinna, M.D.
Copyright 2012
No fitness trainer will talk to you about your posture.
They will talk to you about exercises, exercise machines, time for training and types of training, etc.,
but they will never mention the most important exercise
of your entire life.
If you read the medical blogs, such as Mercola and
Mirkin, you will read and see videos about how to train
and what to eat but not one word about posture.
And yet Posture: how you walk, how you sit, how
you drive, how you read, is a constant exercise that utilizes
every muscle in your body every hour of the day while
you’re awake.
CHILDREN
Look at any group of young children.
Watch how they keep their head high, their back
straight as they move and play. No matter what they are doing, they always keep a naturally perfect posture.
Nature intended that the Human Species walk
and move with the head up—alert and always ready
for danger.
However, this posture requires energy.
Children do not realize how much energy is needed
to use all the muscles along the spine to keep the
spine erect. They do not think of their shoulders
and the muscles of their back, which keep their
shoulders pulled back. Their bellies are automatically
tightened and held under the chest, giving them the
appearance of lithe animals.
THE MILITARY
When I was a youth in the U.S. Marine Corps,
I learned how to properly stand at Military Attention.
I learned that my chin had to be pulled in, my
chest pulled up, my abdomen pulled in and my
legs and spine be perfectly straight. When we marched
or walked, we were not allowed to slouch.
We were reminded constantly to maintain an
“ideal military posture.”
All of this required energy, and muscular effort.
This constant use of the muscles of our body to
maintain “Military Posture” made us stronger—and yet,
we had no idea that we were exercising.
AGING
Throughout our lives we fight a constant battle
against gravity.
Every molecule in our body is being pulled to the
center of the earth from the moment we are born to
the moment we die.
As a consequence, our skin sags around our face
and neck, our bellies begin to bulge and fall forward,
our head starts to move towards our chest, our upper
body begins to curve and fall towards the ground, our
knees cave and our walk falters.
If we look at elderly people and compare them
with children, the difference becomes astonishing.
Maintaining good posture is the constant fight
against gravity which incessantly pulls our bodies
down.
The battle goes on whether we are sitting, walking,
running or standing.
The beauty is that if we recognize that we are in
a battle, and we don’t surrender to gravity, we will
maintain our youthful appearance and improve our
health.
Since maintaining good posture is a constant exercise,
we will have less of a tendency to become obese because
we will use a large quantity of energy in this unending
exercise.
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENT
Those people who maintain good posture have
a tendency not to over-eat and also to exercise daily.
They subconsciously realize that their appearance
is better than their peers and therefore they avoid
those habits which mar their appearance.
This subconscious drive to maintain a healthy
looking body is the prime driver for keeping
a good posture.
WHICH MUSCLES ARE USED IN POSTURE?
I have studied the muscle groups used in good
posture, and I can safely say that almost every muscle
in the body is required.
Good posture starts with the face.
Allowing the jaw to hang lax with the mouth
partly open is a prime sign of an idiot.
The muscles of the face must not be strained,
but, also, they must not be lax. The prime sign
of youth is an alert, smiling face. As people age, they
allow gravity to pull their mouth open and this is
bad posture.
All the muscles along the spine, from the neck
to the “tailbone” (coccyx) must be in play to keep the
neck and back erect.
Most people with low back pain have poor posture.
The muscles of the low back must work harder when the
upper body is bent forward.
THE “LEVER EFFECT”
When the upper body is allowed to fall forward,
the upper spine acts as a lever which pulls against
the muscles of the spine of the low back.
When the spine is perfectly erect all the weight
of the body falls vertically on the vertebrae below
and there is almost no stress on the muscles.
When the body is bent, the lever-effect
comes into play and the abnormal pull on
the muscles of the low back produces pain.
This pain becomes chronic in nature if the
bad posture is not corrected.
Orthopedic surgeons frequently prescribe
metal back braces for people with bad posture,
thereby mechanically keeping them in good
posture.
I have helped many patients relieve their
low back pain by simply telling them to “Walk
straight!”
When they change their posture the pain
goes away. However, most people cannot change
their posture after a certain age.
For this reason, it is imperative that a
good posture be learnt at an early age and
maintained throughout life.
Apart from the muscles of the spine, the
muscles of the upper back which pull the
shoulders back must also be used.
The “Core Muscles” of the pelvis, abdomen
and diaphragm are required to keep the
abdomen in and the back straight.
Since “standing tall” is part of good
posture, all the muscles of the legs become
involved in keeping the legs straight at the
knees while standing. the calf muscles
are required for walking with a graceful
and normal gait.
BREATHING
When one maintains good posture, one has
a tendency to breath deeply. This deep breathing
eliminates more carbon dioxide and reduces the
acidity of the blood.
As the acidity of the blood is reduced, the
brain works more effectively and there is less
anxiety about the environment.
Simple deep breathing has been shown
repeatedly to produce a calming effect on
the mind. Good posture assists in good and
deep breathing.
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
Everywhere we look in the history of different
cultures, we see the advantages of good posture.
The Hindu Yoga techniques emphasize
posture as the most important exercise.
All Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman
statues show men and women in perfect posture.
Even statues of the Buddha in meditation
show a person sitting very erect and yet in total
peace with the environment. We can see that
the posture is the essence of the Buddha’s
tranquility.
Unfortunately, there is no insistence on
good posture in our society with the exception
of the military.
OTHER SOCIETIES
In Japan, however, good posture is considered
important, and along with the bowing etiquette,
people tend to walk and sit erect.
It is well known that the Japanese have the
longest longevity of any race on the planet. This
is usually attributed to their diet of seafood and
veggies, but, in my opinion, I think that good
posture plays an important role in their longevity.
In Sardinia, where my ancestors originated,
walking is a very common pleasure. Walking
requires good posture or it will become tiring.
In Sardinia, longevity is very common. There
are more centenarians in Sardinia than any
other place on this planet. The good posture
of the Sardinians may play a role in this
anomaly, although most scientists attribute
the longevity to the unique DNA of the Sardinians.
SUMMARY
Good posture is essential for good health.
If one makes a conscious effort to maintain
good posture, after a period of time, this effort
will become unconscious and one will walk,
sit, drive and do all things with good posture.
In turn the good posture will improve the
health of your mind and body.
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