Tag Archives: standing tall

Fitness Guru: The posture shift that changes everything

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-Checking vertical alignment between cheekbone and collarbone.

  • Photos courtesy of Connie Aronson

Example of forward head position-note the misalignment

It’s to your advantage to have your head perched directly above your spine—not just for good alignment, but for how you feel and move throughout the day. A head in optimal alignment with the neck can reduce tension, improve your body image and even change the way you carry yourself.

Try this: Imagine your head as a helium balloon floating gently upward. Your neck and spine are the string, soft and flexible like wool. This simple mental image can instantly relax your shoulders, lengthen your neck and help you stand taller—without effort or strain.

Now, consider the weight of that “balloon.” The human head weighs anywhere from 9 to 12 pounds. When it’s aligned over the spine, your body carries that weight with ease. But for every inch the head shifts forward, the effective load on your neck doubles. That forward head posture—common with screen time and stress—can wreak havoc on your neck, shoulders and overall alignment.

Here’s a quick way to check your head position:

The forward head scan

1. Sit near the edge of a chair.

2. Place one index finger on the part of your cheekbone that sticks out just below the eye.

3. Place your other index finger directly below it on your collarbone.

4. Look in a mirror or ask someone to check: Are the two fingers vertically aligned?

If the finger on your cheekbone is ahead of the one on your collarbone, your head is likely too far forward for optimal alignment.

Awareness is the first step. Use both the visual imagery of the floating balloon and this hands-on check throughout the day to gently guide your head back to center. When your head is naturally balanced at the top of your spine, your whole body follows.

A small shift at the top can create big changes in how you feel, move and carry yourself—no equipment required.

Connie Aronson is an exercise physiologist and Corrective Exercise Specialist ( TBBM-CES ) Visit her and her Golden, Josie on Instagram @Josie_thegolden and www.conniearonson.com

Published in The Idaho Mountain Express October 24, 2025

https://www.mtexpress.com/wood_river_journal/features/fitness-guru-the-posture-shift-that-changes-everything/article_f3cc9071-4dd9-4b09-91fb-2953c180bb88.html

Good posture is relaxed, not forced

Image

Wouldn’t it be nice if our posture was always perfect, vertical and symmetrically balanced? Yet as in life, it’s never that way. When it comes to our posture, many of us tilt, shift, slump, and bend, and it can feel like an uphill battle against the gravitational field of the earth. Yet if your goal is to improve your posture and have a healthy spine, we want to continually practice healthy movement habits. We all have some imbalances, and old habits. Tensing your shoulders, holding your breath, or a forward head are counterproductive not only in weight training, but in any sport.  Tomas Myer in his book Anatomy Trains, writes that everyone has a story, and good stories always involve some imbalance.

A woman is stretching on the floor with another person.
Good posture is relaxed, not forced.

Good posture is an easy upright alignment, where the body weights of your head, chest, and pelvis are poised one atop the other, like a stack of colorful wooden building blocks. The spine’s “ home-base†is it’s natural neutral position, where it is in the least stressed position.


The ease of good posture allows for its’ three natural curves; the neck, or cervical spine, the mid-back, or thoracic spine, and the low back, or lumbar spine. Standing or sitting up straight allows for the presence of each of these three natural curves. Beyond looking symmetrical though, there are copious muscles and connective tissue webbing working to support the spine. It isn’t a freestanding pillar, writes Dr. Stuart McGill, Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo and author ofBackMechanic.  Instead, he says, think of it more like a radio tower, a tall metallic structure stabilized by guy-wires that are connected to the ground.  The guy-wires act in the same way that the network of muscles and ligaments that surround our spinal columns do, providing strength and support.

Reminding yourself to pull your shoulders back is only part of the posture picture. Alignment is dynamic, neurologically adaptive, and certainly has an emotional component. Finding out where your muscle tension lives, your neck, for example, is helpful to find that particular pattern that causes the trouble in the first place. It’s known by the “ everything-connects-to-everything-else principle. “ It helps to understand which muscles are shortened or tight, or which emotions might be contributing to that feeling, and how that affects the whole body. 

Using imagery to improve spinal alignment

Using imagery can help you experience an incredible release of muscle tension. The Franklin Method uses imagery metaphorically, and is helpful if you are unfamiliar with anatomy. Here are some images from Eric Franklin’s book Dynamic AlignmentThrough Imagery, to try to help improve your spinal alignment. You just might discover a very fixable imbalance.

Lighting designer aligns the spine (lying, sitting, or standing):

1.Visualize the spine as a chain of spotlights. Turn on all the lights and observe their focal directions. If they shine in many confused directions, adjust them so that they all focus in the sagittal plane. Now adjust them so that they shine with equal brightness.

Head on geyser

2. Imagine your central axis to be a waterspout or geyser. Your head floats effortlessly on top of this column. Visualize your shoulders and your body as the water falls back down to the ground. Allow your head to bob on the top of the column of water. As the geyser become stronger, your head is buoyed upward. Let the power of the water increase the height of your head.


https://www.mtexpress.com/wood_river_journal/features/fitness-guru/article_aa648d9e-5188-11e9-9360-1381d385e740.html