Your Spine is Your Business: Projection through Posture

We all know first impressions make a lasting impression.  In the business world, how do you want your first impression to be with a new perspective client or customer?  How do you project confidence, composure, a sense of authority, and appear professional?  Posture.  Posture projects strength and poise.

We’ve heard it all before.  Good posture helps reduce the chance for neck injuries and back pain.   It minimizes fatigue and pain from aching joints.  Good posture allows for more oxygen to reach your lungs, improves blood circulation, even food digestion and waste elimination.  As good as it is for us from the inside, good posture has many benefits from the outside.

Your posture improves the image you want to project by making you appear more professional and confident.  Stand in front of a mirror in your best suit, stand tall extending the crown of your head toward the ceiling and gently draw your shoulders back and belly button in.  How do you look?   Now ask yourself:  How do I feel?  Standing tall makes you look good and feel good in your clothes.  Self-confidence or even to appear more self-confident allows you to “sell” you or your business and make it more believable.  Fake it till you make it.  Even if you are in the first year of business or 20 years invested, self-confidence sells.  Maintaining an open and relaxed posture will help keep your prospect engaged during a sale or negotiation.

Easier said than done and possibly the last thing you may be thinking about when you are presenting to a client or addressing your employees.  Good posture is not about standing in a military position, shoulders pulled back pinching together and pulled tightly down your back and flattening your spine.  Posture is a beautiful balancing act, not a position.  We should feel at ease and comfortable in good posture.  This ease will extend beyond the physical body.  Your body-mind connection will deepen helping reduce stress and anxiety.

How do we achieve this?  With practice.  Good posture develops as you remove old habits over time.  Success in business comes with hard work.  Don’t let your posture lie about your accomplishments.  By performing the appropriate exercises regularly your hard work will be rewarded with pain-free posture by restoring the natural curves of your spine.         

Office Workout for Good Posture

Door way stretch:  To open chest and create broad shoulders

• Standing at a door frame; place the forearm of one arm against the door frame 90 degrees from your shoulder. Lean forward (or take a small step forward with one foot) gently until you feel a stretch.  Hold 30-45 sec. 
• Release Stretch from this position and slide arm higher to approx. 120 degrees and hold for another 30-45 sec. Repeat on other side.  Preform stretch 2-3x daily.

Wall pushups:  To create strength in shoulders and upper back

• Facing wall; place hands shoulder height and slightly wider than shoulders. Bend your elbows while keeping body straight.  Press back to extend arms without locking your elbows.         Repeat 10x.

Standing Leg Extension:  Strengthen pelvis for a stable core

• Facing wall; extend one leg straight back without allowing your back to extend. Move slow and with purpose 10x.  Repeat on other side.

Standing or Seated Side Bending:  To help keep your mid-back flexible and breathe with ease.

• Lift one arm up and side bend to the opposite side. If standing, avoid allowing your hips to shift to one side.  If sitting, keep both hips even on your chair.  Pause and take a breath.    Repeat 10x and preform on opposite side.

Seated Twist:  For a flexible spine, strong core and happy lungs.

• Squeeze knees together, cross arms, place hands on front of shoulders and twist to one side without moving your pelvis (you’ll feel your legs moving at your knees if you are!), return to center the twist to the opposite side. Slow and controlled is more efficient.

Leg Raises:  For a healthy core.

• While seated squeeze a ball between your knees and slowing roll the ball lifting it with one knee and lower. Preform on other side alternating sides 20x.

Seated Spine Stretch Forward:  For a flexible spine and healthy core.

• Roll your whole spine forward, don’t just bend at your waist, and roll back up feeling like you are stacking your spine on level at a time. Repeat 8x.

Remember posture makes perfect.   Find your spine within you and your business.

Author: Lisa Bender

Lisa Bender, studio director, is an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner, Registered Massage Therapist and STOTT® Certified Pilates Instructor. Lisa believes that optimal health begins with intelligent exercise and unifying body and physiological function.