Good Posture...Just How Important Is It To Your Health?

Posture ranks right up at the top of the list when you are talking about good health. It is as important as eating right, exercising, getting a good night's sleep and avoiding potentially harmful substances like alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Good posture is a way of doing things with more energy, less stress and fatigue. Without good posture, you can't really be physically fit.

Surprised? Well, you're not alone. The benefits of good posture may be among the “best” kept secrets. The good news is that most everyone can “avoid” the problems caused by bad posture...and you can make improvements at any age.

Good Posture is Good Health

We're a health conscious society today and good posture is a part of it. Because good posture means your bones are properly aligned and your muscles, joints and ligaments can work as nature intended. It means your vital organs are in the right position and can function at peak efficiency. Good posture helps contribute to the normal functioning of the nervous system.

Without good posture, your overall health and total efficiency may be compromised. Because the long-term effects of poor posture can affect bodily systems (such as digestion, elimination, breathing, muscles, joints and ligaments), a person who has poor posture may often be tired or unable to work efficiently or move properly.

Even for younger people, how you carry yourself when working, relaxing or playing can have big effects. Did you know that just 15 minutes reading or typing when using the wrong positions exhausts the muscles of your neck, shoulders and upper back?

Poor Posture - How Does it Happen?

Often, poor posture develops because of accidents or falls. But bad posture can also develop from environmental factors or bad habits. This means that you have control.

In most cases, poor posture results from a combination of several factors, which can include:

1. Accidents, injuries and falls
2. Poor sleep support (mattress)
3. Excessive weight
4. Visual or emotional difficulties
5. Foot problems or improper shoes
6. Weak muscles, muscle imbalance
7. Careless sitting, standing, sleeping habits
8. Negative self image
9. Occupational stress
10. Poorly designed work space

Poor Posture & Pain

A lifetime of poor posture can start a progression of symptoms in the average adult. It can start with...
Fatigue – then tight, achy muscles in the neck, back, arms and legs - by this time, there may be a change in your muscles and ligaments and you may have a stiff, tight painful feeling. More than 80% of the neck and back problems are the result of tight, achy muscles brought on by years of bad posture. Poor posture and limited mobility increase the likelihood of this condition in later years. We help you minimize those effects by removing spinal subluxations which contribute to bad posture and often first cause it to occur.

Symptoms is NOT the Cause

Are symptoms good or bad? What do they mean? Who gets them? What should i do when i don't feel good? When is the right time to get adjusted? When should you take medicine, either over the counter or prescription drugs? Is a fever bad? How hi is too hi? How come your kids are never sick? What do you give your kids when they're sick? What can i do to stop these earaches? If you don't give them drugs, what do you do?

My kids won't eat vegetables. My kids are always tired and fussy. Look at these bumps on her arm. Bedtime? What's that? What about the dark circles under her eyes? Bowel movements three times a day, are you kidding me! No milk! Where do they get their calcium? My doctor told me its normal to have 1 bowel movement a week. What do you feed your kids? You get your baby adjusted?!

Many years ago I learned about HERING'S LAW: "All cure comes from the head down, from the inside out, and in reverse order as the symptoms first appeared." I also learned that dis-ease is associated with 2 basic processes: the lack of biochemical elements(whole, pure and natural foods) and the lack of proper elimination(or the accumulation of the bodies toxic wastes), resulting in a lowered immune system. You see, you don't "catch" a dis-ease". You are either working and training to be healthy or working toward dis-ease. The choice is ours! When we focus on natural healing, eating organic, natural foods, and a more healthy lifestyle, the "bugs", "germs", and "viruses" are not a threat.

First, lets choose to reduce or eliminate fast, fake, processed, devitalized food. Start shopping only on the outside aisle of the grocery store. You will be amazed! That's where you are going to find your fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy. When you are ready for the next step, look for organic produce and dairy products. You want your meals to consist of 6 vegetables, 2 fruits, 1 starch, and 1 protein per day: vegetables provide minerals, fruits provide vitamins, starches provide energy, and protein is needed for building healthy tissue cells. PROPER NUTRITION is the first step to a health. GO GREEN!!

Changing Your Beliefs About Health and Illness

How to Stay Sick

The first, and most important, is to keep the status quo. If you are consuming copious amounts of highly processed, high-calorie and nutritionally depleted foods, by all means, keep it up. If you do not take nutritional supplements and want to stay sick, continue to avoid them at all costs. If you are a practicing couch potato, please do no more exercise than is absolutely necessary. If you can get someone to bring your nutrition depleted meals to you, so you don’t even have to walk to the dining area that is even so much better. It is also important to keep your excuse sticker so you won’t have to walk so far to get to the scooters that are provided by the store. And, last but not least, if the same doctor has treated you for some time without improvement, it would seem like a good idea to keep your appointments.

Good health does not just happen.

The first commitment for optimum health is education. We must have an understanding about what it takes to enjoy good health. After acquiring the understanding it takes for good health, two very important steps remain, desire and determination. Without desire, you can comfortably stay sick. Even with desire, without determination, poor health, huge medical bills and an early demise can literally be guaranteed.

How improper Qi flow affects your health:

How improper Qi flow affects your health:

Qi
1. Energy.
2. Vital force.

Meridian
1. A pathway from the organs to every part of the body.

Qi Stagnation
1. An interruption in the flow of Qi through the meridians, possibly causing organ imbalances with a loss of normal function.
2. An interruption of communication from the organs to any cell or tissue in the body.

Organ Imbalance
1. A state of abnormal organ function due to deficiency or excess,
possibly causing Qi stagnation. The organs are the lungs, large intestine,
stomach, spleen, liver, gall bladder, pericardium, heart, small intestine, kidneys and bladder. Every one of these organs interacts with every other. Imbalances in the liver, for example, affect the spleen adversely.

Qi stagnation is a condition in which Qi is not moving smoothly from the organs to the rest of the body. This congests the meridians and affects the normal transmission of body impulses. The function and healing process of vital body parts are often affected.

Organ imbalance and Qi stagnation are caused by any physical, emotional or chemical stress the person cannot adapt to. In the early stages, Qi stagnation affects only muscles, ligaments or organs. Although extreme pain has been observed in some cases, it is more often noticed as a discomfort, or not noticed at all.

However, if the condition is allowed to go untreated, the body will attempt to help support the affected area, but may deform instead. As the muscles become more rigid, the area starts to degenerate.

The longer the condition is allowed to go untreated, the less chance there is for recovery. What began as a minor problem or discomfort may lead to irreversible damage.