Aging with Postural Fitness

How many of you knew that your posture is an indicator of mortality?

Did you know that the postural framework of your body, when misaligned, actually decreases your lifespan?

The majority of people associate their posture with aesthetic appeal, completely neglecting the importance that the posture system play sin protecting your body and keeping you alive and healthy. Having proper posture is not a luxury, it is a necessary component to survival.

Today we will be talking about your “Wealthspan.” My goal is to give you the information and the tools that you need to make better decisions about your health. Because when you have your health, you have the ability to live well, to create wealth, to enjoy vacations with your family, to see your grandchildren grow up, to do the things that make you happy.

Poor health is the thief of your happiness.

My interest for you, is not just to increase your lifespan, adding unhealthy years to your life. My interest is to increase your “wealthspan,” to add wealth – health and wellness – to your years. It’s not how long we live, it’s what we experience and produce that leaves a legacy for the following generations.

You are reading this today because you want to add quality to your life and abundance in your years. I am excited to provide you with recommendations of how to make that happen. You are among the elitists who will know vital health information.

Depending if you are an old client or new to our practice, you may or may not have truly adopted postural correction as part of your wellness strategy for better living and healthy aging. Why is posture so important and what impact does it have? Is it really a predictor of mortality and early death? The answer is yes, and here is why.

Structure dictates function. The structure of your body allows your body to function at its optimal level of performance. With a weak postural framework, the body cannot resist stress to it’s full ability, meaning it weakens when environmental stressors are introduced to the body.

The biologic sustainability of the human race increases as humans gained the ability to stand upright. The upright stance of the body is the most intelligent posture of living beings, and the healthiest posture for humans. This is what natural selection has shown us anyways.

What actually happens when the body flexes forward at the thoracic spine and the trunk?

The vertebrae, made of solid bone, surround and protect the spinal chord. The spinal cord has many extensions called the spinal nerves, which exit from the vertebrae and go to every organ, cell and tissue of the body giving them the electric stimulus that they need to perform their life-sustaining functions.

As the trunk gets pulled into flexion, the direction of gravity, increased stress in put on the spinal cord and the spinal nerves. The chest bends forward, to avoid falling over. In order to see what is happening in our surroundings, we then crank our neck. Your eyes have the innate tendency of seeking eye level to keep us upright.

The classic postural presentation is the hallmark of postural agin. You have all seen it before, many of you probably refer to it as the “granny’s hump” assuming that it is a natural occurrence with the aging process. I have good news, although this is common, does NOT mean it is normal.

If you make the commitment today to have healthy postural habits, you will not have this bent forward presentation that is the thief of your health.

Why is it the thief of your health?

Because when there is increased stress to the spinal cord and the spinal nerves, it causes stress to the neuroendocrine system, which is the system that controls the release of hormones. Are we all in agreement that when there is hormonal imbalance, the body is less healthy? Yes of course. In addition to hormonal imbalance, as the thoracic spine becomes distorted forward, it also affects your blood pressure, your ability to properly digest food, and your respiratory capacity. Are we also in agreement that the ability to circulate blood, digest food, and breathe properly are vital functions of human life? Good.

You have all seen, or heard of height loss in the elderly right? This occurs due to spinal degeneration and postural distortion patterns. Did you know that height loss in the elderly is associated with a 64% increase of cardiovascular dysfunction, and that the granny’s hump posture is an indicator of early death and increased mortality. We now understand why. Structure dictates function. A distorted structure leads to distorted function, which is a predictor of sickness and early death.