While this advice was given to us with good intention and may provide us with an aesthetically pleasing appearance, it is not ideal to living a pain-free life.

Slouching on the sofa, or lying in bed propped up with pillows while reading or watching T.V. may feel good at the moment but isn’t going to offer any lasting relief and could end up hurting you.

If it were possible to learn how to move effortlessly through life in a new way that prevented you from experiencing back pain would you be willing to take the time to learn it?

Do you know who has great posture? Toddlers. The way toddlers use their backs ROCK! Check out this toddler’s posture.

Notice how straight his spine is with the exception of the very bottom. There is an important reason the bottom is different but for now consider the rest of his back.

Each vertebra is stacked directly on top of each other which is absolutely ideal for keeping his weight evenly distributed throughout his spine and offers no weak points that could jeopardize the integrity of his back.

Think about it like a stack of tires. You can add more weight at the top, and it is then evenly distributed through the whole stack.

If the stack had a curve or bend in the middle, then that would be where most of the pressure would end up. Then a tire could slip, rupture, or become misaligned.

While we are still in the womb, the shape of our spine resembles the letter, “C”. We are born with only two curves in our spine known as the primary curvatures. These two curves are at our mid-back, or thoracic region, and our extreme lower back, the sacral region.

As we grow, we then develop two more curves. One located at the neck, the cervical region, and the other in the lower back, or lumbar region.

Influences such as working positions whether sitting at a desk or working standing up with bending throughout the day can accentuate these curves.

Popular culture and the fashion industry has also changed the way we carry ourselves. If you look at old pre-1920’s photographs, you will notice people maintained good posture with well-aligned spines.

Photos after that period reveal people posing with swayed backs; hips thrust forward, and chic looking leans that society quickly adopted to appear fashionable as well.

It was around this time that back pain incidents started to trend upwards.

By fostering a deeper level of understanding your spine and learning just what causes back pain, you can begin your journey to a pain-free life.

You will understand how to avoid awkward positions that could compromise your back.

You will be able to avoid pulled or strained muscles which make you more susceptible to serious injuries by using good mechanics.

By re-educating yourself for proper, natural posture you will BREAK the cycle of injury –> healing –> wellness –> re-injury for good!

Healthy posture costs nothing and takes zero time to implement.

It will become your new natural way to move through life.

Best of all, it will become something you can teach your children to create a legacy of pain-free living.