If you’re a full-time desk dweller who spends their days hunched over a laptop then an achy back and hips is something you’re probably all too familiar with. However, bad posture doesn’t just lead to aches and pains, it can also affect your breathing, create poor balance, and increase the likelihood of injuries when working out. But these five stretches from Kristina Rudzinskaya, a certified Pilates instructor and CEO of Etalon, will relieve tight and tensed muscles, elevating your posture.
Good posture isn't just important for our physical wellbeing but can also impact our mental wellbeing too. One study assigned 74 participants to sit in either an upright seated posture or a slumped seated posture to assess their emotional response to a psychological stress task. Those who sat with an upright posture reported having increased self-esteem, positive mood and less fear in comparison to those who sat with a slumped seated posture. Kristina says this is because: "When you hold yourself upright with an open chest and a lifted spine, you're not just standing taller physically; you're also sending signals to your brain that you're more confident."
