• FLEXIBILITY
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• BALANCE
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• STRENGTH
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• ENDURANCE

How To Improve Posture For Seniors And The Elderly

How to improve posture in seniors and the elderly?

Let's take a look at the basics.

Proper posture is essential for correct performance of your daily activities and exercises.  

Poor posture includes shoulders that are forward, chin that is jutting out in front, and standing with bend knees and hips.

This position will result in a curved, slouching back posture along with a poor walking pattern of landing flat footed.
 
Good posture is a learned habit. How many times has someone told you to sit up straight?

Likely it was your mother.

She knew that proper posture will improve your balance, help your breathing, relieve pain in the cervical spine and shoulders and even assist your gastrointestinal track to run more efficiently.

When standing, make sure your feet are slightly apart.

Tighten your buttock muscles a little along with the abdominal muscles. Raise the ribs and bring your shoulders back.

Try this exercise below, arm ups,  while you practice your good posture and see what a positive difference it makes in your day!

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Arm Ups

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Purpose of this exercise

• Improve the flexibility of your ribs to assist in breathing.
• Increase your ability to lift the ribs and bring the shoulders back into proper position.

How to do it

Step 1

• Sit or stand with arms at sides.
• Maintain a neutral spine.

Step 2 

• Breathe in as you raise your elbows to shoulder height.
• Bring your shoulder blades together.
• Return to the starting position and repeat 10 times.

Breathing

• Inhale during the upward movement phase.
• Exhale during the downward movement phase.

Tips

• Keep your hands in front of your chest.
• Try to keep your shoulders relaxed and down during the exercise.
• Keep your chin tucked in during the movement.

Take it up a notch

• After you raise our elbows up to shoulder height, pause then continue to raise your hands toward the ceiling, pause then bring them down to the starting position.

Try these other posture exercises

Watch These Exercise Videos

1. Arm Ups

• Improve the flexibility of your ribs to assist in breathing.
• Increase your ability to lift the ribs and bring the shoulders back into proper position.

2. Spine Extensions

• Helps correct faulty posture by bringing the spine into neutral, shoulders and chin back.
• Assists in the flexibility of the chest, improving respiration and lung functioning.

3. Chin Tuck And Jut

• Provides good feedback on correcting faulty posture habits.
• Strengthens the cervical retracting muscles for better support of good posture.

4.Shoulder Circles

• Improve the flexibility of your shoulders and rib cage.
• Helps bring your spine into a better erect posture.
• This is a great exercise to do to "set" your spine and shoulders during the day.

5. Shoulder Blade Squeeze

• Helps position your spine in a comfortable neutral position.
• Corrects faulty posture by positioning your shoulders below your ears.

6. Wall Tilts

• Helps bring your lower back into correct posture.
• Strengthens your pelvis and buttock muscles.

Do you like these exercises? Did you know you can download the exercises along with a 4 week exercise program?.