Enhancing relationship between body energy and body structure is immensely important to achieve and maintain good body posture for healthy body and mind, less stress and pain, explains Dr. Pratyush Mishra 

Body posture speaks a lot about a person’s personality and his state of wellbeing. A person keeping good posture oozes confidence, stability, calmness, easiness, comfort and positive vibes. Poor posture causes multiple mental and physical health complications. These complications can have long lasting effects on one’s overall health and wellbeing,

In our childhood days, we have been repeatedly reminded, and at times admonished by our elders to sit or to stand straight, not to slouch, or to keep the shoulders back. These rebukes were just to make sure that one should maintain the habit of good posture. This is not just the case with present day generation or a generation before. Advice and practice of maintaining good posture has been passed on to generation after generation by oral tradition by the elders. However, not many keep up with this after growing up,  as a reult of which become victims of poor postural habit and suffer silently.

Postural correctness as a practice has its root in the period of thriving prehistoric Indian tribes. Among the prehistoric Indians indigenous tribes, seven main Vidyas (knowledge system) along with many complimentary traditional knowledge for leading healthy, meaningful and wholesome life  held fort and were prevalent in mainstream. The "Sahaja Vidya" as propounded by seer Agni, who was a pioneers of his time said to has belonged to the Dyus tribe. The path of Sahaja, which when roughly translated denotes achieving the state of absolute easiness was also known as "Gna"Vidya. This Vidya is kept alive even to the present day by few knowers who have received it though living master-disciple tradition. Gandharva and Vidyadhara tribes were privy to this Vidya of Agni in which perfect balance between the body structures, energy flowing within that structure in a harmonious way forms a part. This realistically speaks about postures.  There are numerous mentions we find in early Vedic literatures of taking appropriate postural positions while conducting different activities.

'Shira Abhyanga' is a practice much prevalent in Ayurveda. Postural practices, where the body is trained to hold steady and at ease without creating any obstacle to free flow of energy throughout the body, are also widespread to other belief communities. Along with other postural prescriptions for meditation, conscious-walking or walking-meditation by Buddhist community is known as Cankama. Cankama is walking meditation, usually in the form of walking back and forth along a prescribed path. This practice offers five benefits to the practitioner: one is fit for long journeys; one is fit for striving; one has little disease; that which is eaten, drunk, chewed, tasted, goes through proper digestion; and the composure attained by walking up and down is long-lasting.

Jain Community practices integrate different postural positions such as Padmasana, Vajrasana, Sukhasana, standing, and lying down.  All  Tirthankaras are always seen in one of these two postures in the Kayotsarga (standing) or Padmasana. In the Jain text called Jnanyarnava, Subhacandra gives advice on the practice of steady posture. It says that those whose posture is very steady do not tire at all. However, because of a weakness in the practice of posture, steadiness of the body is not experienced.

What is posture? Posture is defined as the attitude assumed by the body either with support during the course of muscular activity, or as a result of the coordinated action performed by a group of muscles working to maintain the stability. There are two types: Dynamic posture is how you hold yourself when you are moving, like when you are walking, running, or bending over to pick up something. It is usually required to form an efficient basis for movement. Muscles and non-contractile structures have to work to adapt to changing circumstances. Static posture is how you hold yourself when you are not moving, like when you are sitting, standing, or sleeping. Body segments are aligned and maintained in fixed positions. This is usually achieved by co-ordination and interaction of various muscle groups which are working statically to counteract gravity and other forces.

“Charan Japa” kriya is a practice popular in Sikh community which means “repeat with the feet.” This practice integrate specific breathing and mantras with walking. Proven efficacy of this practice is breaking stress, improving health and gaining emotional control.

But then, one would ask why it is important to maintain correct posture? What complications arises due to poor posture? To have an idea about what bad postures offer, let’s have a look:

Bad posture adversely changes the shape of spine by tweaking its alignment, putting pressure on areas that don’t need it or can’t handle it. By spending years slumping at desk and standing with bad posture, the natural curve of the  spine is lost. Excess pressure on spine weaken and compress the vertebrae to erode. These changes not only cause long-term pain and discomfort but also makes one sad and triggers stress and depression. Different studies  find  increased feeling of depression and stress to slouched wallk.

Bad posture affects innards of a person and creates digestive trouble. Folding the body into unnatural position can affect all internal organs. Sitting or standing in unnatural positions can constrict the intestine and affect digestion resulting in acid reflux and hernias. It also affects metabolism causing to gain weight.

When your body isn’t at ease with itself in alignment, it isn’t happy, and the result is body pain. Poor posture can lead to chronic back pain and disc degeneration. It can also cause pain in parts of body including hips, shoulders, and neck, which can lead to tension headaches. Unlike good posture bad posture does not support the weight of head and other body parts effortlessly.

Improper posture can lead to cardiovascular and lung issues. Individuals who sat all day slumped over their desks had a shorter life expectancy and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, partly due to wrong posture that restricts flow of oxygen and blood, making it more difficult to breathe,

speak, and engage in physical activities.

This is why from ancient times in Indian subcontinent, much were conceived, talked about, debated and put to practice on achieving perfect body and energy balance or ‘sahaja sthiti’ of the body.

In later period, this practice was described as the condition of “Sthira Sukam” which is an aphorism employed to explain the state of postural steadiness and easiness in yoga community.

What is Sthira Sukham?

These two Sanskrit words are familiar to most yoga students as an oft-quoted aphorism from the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: sthira-sukhamasanam.

Sthira means steady; and for that to achieve, the body must be strong. Arising out of the root Stha, which means “to stand, to be firm, to take a stand, sthira can mean “firm, resolute, and courageous.”  It is the ability to “hold steady” in a postural position. When the body starts to struggle because of sensations like pain or discomfort, it is not in the state of Sthira.

Sukha literarily means “good space,” from the root words su (good) and kha (space). Sukha is the comfort that arises when the joints and bones are harmoniously aligned with gravity and when the muscles are free of strain. At the energy level, sukha manifests as an easy flow of breath and balanced circulation of life force.

Sthira-Sukha state is achieved when the muscles are evenly engaged and free of tension and strain; when the cadence of the breath becomes rhythmic; zero balance of the body is achieved; and when the mind becomes patient and vigilant, observing whatever arises from moment to moment.

For practice of several postural positions, massage and body structure manipulation are needed. However unceasing awareness on postural correctness can drive a person to continuously endeavor towards adopting correct posture.

This age old practice of achieving postural perfectness is further vindicated by a recent concept christened as Zero Balancing (ZB). Pioneered by Dr. Frederick Smith, an American medical osteopath who also studied other alternative traditional therapies available at his time. ZB is a unique form of bodywork that combines osteopathic massage manipulation with the energy work of acupuncture. Together, these techniques can help one’s body and mind move to a state of relaxation, clarity and balance.

“Human beings have structure, and, being living systems, they also have energy. ZB uniquely works with both structure and energy,” says David Lauterstein, a ZB practitioner and massage therapist.

This method works with the bones and joints, and with the energy that flows through them. These joints naturally have a small range of motion, so when they get compromised the body has few options to resolve the restriction, compensating elsewhere. For example, an imbalance in the bones of the foot might present as pain and discomfort in the knee or hip. ZB directly addresses these joint imbalances. This means small changes in the function of key joints can produce a significant improvement in body ease and alignment.

It is practice  a of integrating structure (one’s body) with energy (the stuff that moves the body), that can bring positive outcome to the nervous system, engaging specific sensory endings with touch, pressure, and movement. The practitioner offers pressure,   then pauses to allow the body to integrate. This method relieves tension connected with both the muscles and the skeletal system.

“Zero balancing teaches that the deepest currents of energy are in bone, that memory can be held in tissue, that energy fields in the body underlie mind, body and emotions, and that imbalances in the field precede pathology,” says its founder Dr Smith,

Correcting posture can help relieve body aches and pain, release restrictions in movement, and provide lasting relief from emotional distress to improve overall quality of life. It can also be helpful with specific goals such as relief from back pain, improving concentration or sleep, releasing unwanted stress, eliminating old behavior patterns and boosting well-being.

Posture practice is very useful when we are becoming overwhelmed by stresses in our lives which in turn can lead to a decline in our vitality and our ability to adapt to change.

This practice  relieves body aches and pain, releases restrictions in movement, and provides lasting relief from emotional distress thereby improving overall quality of life.

What ancient tribes advocated, what subsequent belief communities practiced to what recent concept of Zero Balancing establishes is that good posture projects perfect body alignment resulting in perfect balance between body, mind and emotional wellbeing.

The key to good posture is the position of the spine. Spine has three natural curves - at the neck, mid/upper back, and lower back. Correct posture should maintain these curves, but not increase them. Your head should be above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulder should be over the hips.

r    In an ideal posture, the line of gravity should pass through specific points of the body. This can simply be observed or evaluated using a plumb line to assess the midline of the body.

r    This line should pass through the lobe of the ear, the shoulder joint, the hip joint, though the greater trochanter of the femur, then slightly anterior to the midline of the knee joint and lastly anterior to the lateral malleolus.

r    When viewed from either the front or the back, the vertical line passing through the body’s centre of gravity should theoretically split the body into two equal halves, with the bodyweight distributed evenly between the two feet.

While assessing posture, symmetry and rotations/tilts should be observed in the anterior, lateral and posterior views. One needs to assess head alignment, cervical, thoracic and lumbar curvature,, shoulder level symmetry, hip, knee and ankle joints and pelvic symmetry.

Contemporary life is increasingly moving towards virtual experience, with life being lived at an ever-faster pace. Staying in touch with the actual world and its natural rhythms is an essential reality check which is valuable in maintaining the balance which is health.

Achieving Sthira in day to day life is vital when one faces frictious forces from all quarters of living. The elimination of conflicts is next to impossible; yet being “sahaja”, allowing the intrinsic skill of self-assurance to quietly bloom forth from within. It can help an individual in dealing with hazards of life but also savoring the varying flavors of experiences. An experience can only be as enriching as the individual’s receptivity to life as a wholesome experience.