As a teenager my mother always nagged me about my posture. She always wanted me to stand up straight instead of hunching. After several years I finely took her advice so that by the time I got to college I had wonderful posture. Carrying myself in this way did attract some attention, but it also just felt good. I was more comfortable when I sat up correctly than when I hunched.

Now that I am a mother, my posture is slipping again and my mother is reminding me again to sit up straight. The cause of this is simple; I am tired and sitting up straight does take some effort. Since my posture has gone down hill I have noticed that my back aches more often. With the start of more back aches and some motherly encouragement, I have renewed my efforts and am starting to see the return of my posture, although I so sometimes slump into bad days.

The key to good posture is not learning how to balance a book on your head. Doing this will actually cause you to raise you head and shoulders a bit which is not necessary to good posture. Although standing and sitting up straight does require the slightest bit of effort, you should be mostly relaxed and at ease through your neck and back area. The trick to having good posture is in your gut…so to speak.

When you are standing or sitting up straight you should actually be using your abdominal muscles a bit. A sure sign of proper posture will be that your abs are slightly firm. A slouched person will have a soft stomach, but a person sitting up straight will have a tighter stomach.

So really, the key to good posture is not really in your back, neck or shoulders, but in your abdominal region. For a good visual example, look up a singer. Not a pop artist performer, but someone who is just singing, like an opera performer. To sing and perform well, you need good abdominal extension which comes with good posture.