"Stand up straight."
We're taught at a young age that we should stand up straight, that perhaps a straight spine is an ideal spine. Look above at the spine in red. Does it look straight? The spine in green is straight, but looking at that posture I can guarantee that the green person has low back pain and fatigue at the bare minimum. Eventually that flat back might lead to hip, knee and ankle problems, maybe headaches.
Curves in our spine are natural. We should not be straightening them out. I've been to exercise and foam rolling classes where the instructors go on and on about making straight spines for good posture. In one of those classes, I came out with low back pain.
Embrace the curves of your spine. Your spine is meant to have gentle curves in your neck, upper back and lower back. Sit quietly with your eyes closed and envision your spine with those ideal natural curves. Maybe you need to tilt forward or backward to see how your vertebra balance with the most ease.
Why are these curves so important? Because the nerves that come from our spine control everything in our body. At every level of our spine we have nerves that connect to different areas of the body, and these nerve connections are essential for all of the parts of our body to function optimally.
Sometimes I'm asked why I'm needling points near the spine. This chart above explains why. These areas are another avenue for treating symptoms. If the spine doesn't maintain those natural curves, it can slightly compromise how those nerves support various areas of the body.