Every minute millions of people post tweets or IG pictures of their “selfies” to their various social media accounts. It’s an immediate indication of our momentary mood, current focus, and emotional state at that time, as well as a reflection of where we are at that moment in our lives, who we are at that time on our journey in life, what we are doing and with who, and how we are feeling. Many include the traditional Duckface, the Resting Blessed Face, the Sweaty Workout Face, the “Hey We’re on Vacation Happy Face” or the “Feeling Cute In a Bathroom Face” #hashtags while we wait for the likes, the friendly banter, the shares, or the many positive comments from those we care about.
The interesting thing about a Selfie is that many people don’t realize how it can reveal the health of a key component of your overall wellness, your posture. Of course, we are all aware of the health benefits of exercise and eating right and how good they are for us. We certainly have recognized that we need to reduce stress and avoid toxins and pollutants in our environment to be considered healthy overall. But maintaining postural integrity is actually just as important as all of those and maybe even more so to a large degree. The APJM found that posture moderates and affects every single physiological function from breathing to hormone production. Blood pressure, mood, pulse, and even lung capacity are all influenced by the health of your posture. We all inherently know that if a structure is unlevel, it is weaker. Carpenters build straight walls, architects start with solid foundations, and human beings were designed to have a particular position of their body to maximize their individual strength, endurance, and overall function and well-being. So, what does this mean to you?
Scroll through your photo album as soon as you can and take a look at your last Selfie. Look at your head in a profile picture, is it forward relative to your ribcage? That position is incorrect and is a definite structural problem that can be associated with headaches, neck pain and even breathing problems. Next, look at your shoulders from front to back, are they tilted or unlevel? This could indicate that you may be setting yourself up for nagging mid-back and shoulder blade pain or weakness with numbness and tingling in your arms and reduced grip strength. It would be really challenging to text your friends your photo if that happened! Now view your face from the front and besides looking at your pursed lips, see if you notice whether you have your nose or face rotated to one side? This abnormal posture can reflect a predisposition to migraines or other unhealthy neurological issues.
Now, of course, some people purposely put themselves in awkward positions, but as you look through your pictures note any positions that you frequently see yourself in. Know that optimal posture nourishes your body with more energy when from the front your eyes are level with your shoulders, your shoulders are level with your hips and your hips are level with the ground. In addition, from the side view your ear should be over the middle of your shoulder, and your shoulder over your hip, and finally your hip over your ankle. You know that cardio and weightlifting are great exercises for your body. You know that fruits and vegetables provide optimal nourishment for you to execute your daily tasks. And now you know what is considered a healthy and balanced structure and anything that deviates from that is abnormal and unhealthy.
If you suffer from any of the above symptoms or even some that may be unlisted while also noticing that you do not have an ideal or normal posture as you view your collection of Selfies, it is important to get evaluated to determine if they could be related and how to fix them so you can take more of your ‘Selfies with a Smile’ face. The most knowledgeable and highly-trained doctors and physicians are capable of getting your posture balanced, correcting your underlying structural problems, and improving your health and well-being so that you can have fewer symptoms, fewer medications, abundant energy, stronger muscles, and more flexible joints are advanced certified CBP chiropractors. So, be your own Postur-azzi and make your Selfie – healthy!
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