“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”
Ever Wonder How Life Imitates Nature?
As I sit in my office and think ahead to this new year, I look at one of my favorite quotes by Alexander Pope. Then, I visualize its precise application of Chiropractic care to the health, strength, and longevity we hope to achieve with proper balance and growth.
First is To Understand
The ancient Japanese art form of growing Bonsai trees is fascinating. Bonsai trees are shrubs that have been consistently stressed in a particular way for a long time to create a posture that would never be found naturally in nature. Depending on how the tree is stressed while it grows, it may look like a miniature version of a full-sized tree, or it may look like a wild tangle of branches with twists and loops.
Second is the Vision
To most people, “good posture” only means sitting and standing up straight. But unfortunately, few of us realize the importance of posture to our health and performance.
Our human body craves alignment. When properly aligned, our bones, not our muscles, support our weight, reducing effort and strain on our nervous system. In addition, when our body is in proper alignment with the help of correct posture, we are rewarded as we are healthier, have more energy, plus move and age more gracefully.
So, while the word “posture” may conjure up images of book-balancing school girls, it is not just about standing up straight. Instead, it is about being aware of your posture being wholly connected to your body’s health and well-being.
Posture and Chiropractic
As chiropractors, we know and try to help you understand that posture ranks right at the top of the list when discussing optimal health. It is as important as eating right, exercising, resting properly, and avoiding potentially harmful substances like alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.
Ideally, our bones stack up one upon the other: the head rests directly on top of the spine, which sits directly over the pelvis, knees, and ankles. But if you spend hours every day sitting in a chair, if you hunch forward or balance your weight primarily on one leg, the muscles of your neck and back must carry the body’s weight rather than being supported by the spine. The resulting tension and joint pressure can affect you physically, emotionally, and chemically.
One of our goals as a chiropractor is to correct the misalignments, releasing the tension on the delicate nerve tissues, which will, in turn, release the pressure of the muscles that become tight and inflamed trying to protect the injured area(s). As the body twists and shifts to protect an injured area, another area of the spine and body can and will become compromised.
Good vs. Bad
Good posture is a way of doing things with more energy, less stress, and less fatigue.
- Without good posture, you cannot be optimally physically, chemically, or mentally fit.
- Without good posture, you can physically damage your spine every time you exercise.
- Without proper posture, your nerves will not communicate properly with your glands and organs, resulting in all kinds of degeneration and potential chronic diseases.
Is Chiropractic for Children Too?
From the very beginning of our children’s lives, we are constantly creating guidelines to help form and develop them into the healthy adults that they will become. However, as parents of this generation, we have encountered a new force creating bends and twists in our children’s postures – smartphones and electronic devices. This repetitive activity over time is now grooming our children’s postures into the predictable head forward posture and rolled shoulders.
With the unhealthy curves we see, the path of our children’s health is becoming all too clear with the rising complaints of back pain, headaches, short attention spans, depression, indigestion, reflux, high blood pressure, asthma, and thyroid problems at earlier ages.
As in nature, the earlier one begins a healthy lifestyle, the healthier and less disease one will experience.
So, by all means, Chiropractic care should be considered first, either actively or proactively, as it is a safe, effective, and drug-free way to better health for all ages. All care is tailored to the individual’s size, age, shape, and needs.
Your Posture Is The Window To Your Health
What does your posture say about you and your family?
Contact us today and schedule a posture exam. Your posture will tell all of us more than you think!
