What does it mean to be fit? Healthy? Well? Can you be one without the other?
Wellness is:
- "...a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." - The World Health Organization
- "a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential." - The National Wellness Institute
I would further define wellness as being free from limitations, thriving, and enjoying peace of mind.
The great thing about posture is that it is as easy to identify as six pack abs. Take a 5 second look at someone and you can see whether they are posturally balanced or not. Below is a famous fitness star who looks very "fit" but look at her posture:
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You may ask: but didn't you just catch her in an awkward stance? Yes, but if you watch the video she's always defaulting to these same imbalances. That tells us it's really her posture imbalances coming through. |
Wrong. They matter a lot. Or they should. These posture imbalances mean that in every exercise she does - from bench press, to squats, to swim, to run - she will not do evenly and symmetrically which means injury and pain is soon to come. Watch her squat below:
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Before she starts squatting, she states: "The trick is, you have to perfect form." This we already know will be impossible because of her posture imbalances. As I've blogged about before: Form follows function. Bad posture equals bad form. How you stand is how you move. Straighten before you strengthen.
The only way to have perfect form is to start from having balanced posture. Posture is the foundation of good form, healthy movement, pain free activity, and injury free performance. |
If you are in chronic pain, contact me today for a free posture evaluation and consultation where we can figure out what you need to do to become pain free. If you are pain free, here are some great videos that can help you stay pain free.