Search Results for 'Posture'

by Patrick Murphy, medical herbalist

Good posture starts with habits developed at an early age. However it is never too late to make changes to improve posture. Good posture ensures that you are not putting too much pressure on your joints and will help to prevent wear and tear (osteoarthritis).

It is the biggest single cause of sickness, disability and loss to industry with almost half the population suffering in any given year.

When you look in the mirror what do you see? An upright person with perfect posture or a stooped individual with hunched shoulders and drooping chin who looks years older than his/her age?

Richard Brennan is the author of seven books on the Alexander Technique. He has appeared on BBC and RTE television, as well as on national and local radio and newspapers, and is in Castlebar for the first time for a workshop on posture and pain.

Q: I haven’t ever done a job interview – until now, I have always got jobs by word-of-mouth referrals. However, as things get tighter in the jobs market, I am facing my first ever interview next week. I have followed your advice here about what I should say, but I would also like a quick run-through some of the basics – eye contact, handshake, etc. Any quick-reference guide you can give me? (TP, email)

Local Mayo chiropractors and the Chiropractic Association of Ireland (CAI) encouraged Irish adults and children to ‘straighten up’ during the fourth annual Straighten Up Ireland campaign which ran until World Spine Day on Sunday October 16.

From now until Christmas, there is an onslaught of weekend entertainment programmes and the British and Irish Chiropractic Association is warning that we could all be ‘Strictly Come Aching’ as a result. Research highlights that 28 per cent of the population already spend over 15 hours seated per day Monday to Friday. But for the next three months avid viewers of X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing could spend the equivalent of an extra two days on the sofa. Poor posture is one of the biggest causes of back pain in the UK and Ireland, and figures continue to rise, with 32 per cent of the nations currently suffering from back pain and 62 per cent having suffered.

We're all guilty of quietly ignoring the voice in the back of our minds telling us to do something different, or that a change of lifestyle is what we need. But there’s a quirk in human nature that means we tend to rebel against what we know we need and only do what we want. Let’s face it, we all need help and support and Kinesiology is a wonderful, helpful way to work with the body step by step and correct the common imbalances which are holding you back.

An Alexander Technique workshop will take place in the Lough Lannagh Holiday Centre lounge, Castlebar, on Saturday November 7 from 10am to 2pm.