Josh Sherman
Last year I took the month of June to immerse myself in Jazz music in an attempt to find some appreciation for it. I still think jazz sucks but Jazz June has turned into a mid-year opportunity for me to challenge myself.
This year, I’ve decided that I should go on a full out attack my posture.
My posture sucks, par for the course giving my choice of career. I thought using a standing desk would improve things, but I’ve found that if you have bad posture while you’re sitting, you’ll probably have bad posture while standing.
Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to meet / work with some fantastically postured individuals like Nat and Matty. Matt was kind enough to share some insight on how I could improve my posture and thus inspiring Posture June.
So every morning this month, I’m starting my day off with a couple of exercises (one from Matt, one from Google).
The first (from Matt) involves clasping your hands behind your back and pulling back / down a bit while looking down your nose. I do this 4 times for a count of 5 seconds. By around the 3rd one I end up not slouching back to my bad posture position as much. By then I’m loosened up and my posture is noticeably improved.
It was explained to me that doing this can help improve your testosterone or cortisol levels or something like that. Matt should totally write a blog post about it cause I know I’m fucking it up a bit.
So after that, I do another (but similar) exercise where I push my chin back until I have a crazy double chin. It’s supposed to help strengthen your neck. Same deal as before, 4 rounds of 5 seconds each.
The plan is to increase the time and number of reps as the month goes on. I was very fearful that going too big early on in the month could potentially lead to an injury, but that’s not been the case. Probably sounds silly to be concerned with that, but I didn’t want to work muscles I rarely use and then end up setting myself up for not being able to function properly for a few days afterward.
In addition to the couple of exercises I’m doing, I’ve been attempting to be more mindful of my posture through the day. In fact, as I type this, my posture is looking pretty good. Shoulders back and straight. Pretty sure I’m a half inch taller since starting this.
Part of being mindful has included adjusting my hand placement while driving. I used to be the type that would drive with one hand which would result in slouching a bit. Now I’m rocking a solid 10 and 2 positioning and actually had to adjust my mirror to compensate for my improved posture.
To help hold myself accountable, I’ve been keeping track of my morning exercise streak as a daily habit in Habitica.
Still early in the month if anybody wants to join me in improving their posture. Or if this post has inspired you to do a personal challenge of your own, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
