“Stand up straight. Don’t slouch.”
Do you have flashbacks of your mom nudging you during church when you hear those phrases? The word “posture” has negative associations with many people for that very reason. We were scolded for most of our life about our posture, and so, we don’t like to think about it. Yet, our posture is one of the first images we send to people and therefore a critical part in making first impressions as well as lasting impressions.
How we carry ourselves is a an important factor in how people treat us. At a business conference, do you 
approach someone who is standing straight, smiling, with an open stance? Or do you approach the wallflower with his head hanging low and closed off? If you are in sales, wanting to network, or wanting to stand out from the crowd, how would you stand?
Posture not only applies to standing, but sitting as well. Don’t throw out your well-developed habits the second you sit in a chair. Slouching can dramatically change someone’s perception of you, your confidence, and your business or product.
While we all understand the importance of good posture, we tend not to think about it because we end up hearing the nagging voice of our mother. When we think of the word posture, we usually tense up and force ourselves into a very uncomfortable position, a position we think of as “proper posture”. When people talk about posture they usually refer to shoulders back, chest out, straight back, and head held high. If you struggle to get this ideal image of posture in your body, chances are you’re carrying quite a bit of tension in your body, and that directly be disruptive to you stress level, muscle and joint pain, and even your voice! But good posture doesn’t have to break you back.
To help change your perception and attitude towards good posture, think of how you sit or stand as your “silhouette”. What would your figure look like in a silhouette? When you put the image of your posture outside of yourself, and think of it as a silhouette – a shadow against the wall – it is much more effortless to make a few small changes that can make a big difference.
A good silhouette is simply a body that is aligned. Each vertebrae rests effortlessly on the other. That’s all. I find it easy to get my silhouette in alignment by picturing a thin but powerful string attached at the crown of my head. As it gently pulls upward, my body relaxes between the force of the string’s tug and the pull from gravity, resting my body in an even alignment. It is a much more effortless and less stressful way of thinking about your silhouette.
As you go throughout your day, ask yourself, “how is my silhouette?” and see if you need to make any small adjustments easily and effortlessly.
