Body language speaks volumes and your posture is a big part of how you communicate to others. You can always tell someone with great posture, they stand out with a strong stride and presence when they walk into a room. It’s partly confidence and it’s also a big part to do with posture. Working in an office or being in a job where you are doing repetitive movements daily will have an impact on your posture and this could have an effect on how people see you.
The shoulders and head forward look
When I worked in an office I would catch myself slumped forward on my laptop, with my shoulders hunched and oddly leaning to the left, with my legs crossed, basically a postural nightmare! This is typical of office workers, particularly the hunched shoulders. The problem with doing this day in and day out is that you end up with a curve in the upper back, known as kyphosis. Your pectorals get really tight and your middle back muscles weak. There is also a lot of strain on the neck. Over time this posture stays with you so when you greet people they will see a person slouching forward, even if you are standing ‘straight’.
The feet turned out look
Another classic posture issue is the feet being turned out. This happens a lot when sitting for the majority of the day as your gluteus (bum) muscles get weak and your hips get tight so when you do stand up to move, these muscles don’t fire up properly and it puts a lot of pressure on other muscles which then get tight and cause an imbalance that rotate your feet outwards. The result is that when you walk, rather than having a confident and healthy stride, you will eventually walk with a noticeable imbalance like a waddle!
These are really common issues and something that I have to work on daily to correct the years of sitting at a desk and being totally unaware of my posture. So the first step is to notice how you sit and stand. Just taking a second to notice your body position will immediately send a message to your brain to re-align. The more you become aware of your posture the less likely that you will develop harmful habits, and the more your body will communicate a strong and confident message to yourself and others.