Look ten years younger and ten pounds thinner . . . and free yourself from those nagging aches and pains with the help of this book. Illustrations.

Our bodies are not fixed. They expand and contract with variations in diet, exercise, and illness. They also alter as we age, changing over time to be markedly different at the end of our lives from what they were at birth. In a similar way, our attitudes to bodies, and especially posture—how people hold themselves, how they move—are fluid. We interpret stance and gait as healthy or ill, able or disabled, elegant or slovenly, beautiful or ugly. In Stand Up Straight!, Sander L. Gilman probes these shifting concepts of posture to explore how society’s response to our bodies’ appearance can illuminate how society views who we are and what we are able to do. The first comprehensive history of the upright body at rest and in movement, Stand Up Straight! stretches from Neanderthals to modern humans to show how we have used our understanding of posture to define who we are—and who we are not. Gilman traverses theology and anthropology, medicine and politics, discarded ideas of race and the most modern ideas of disability, theories of dance and concepts of national identity in his quest to set straight the meaning of bearing. Fully illustrated with an array of striking images from medical, historical, and cultural sources, Stand Up Straight! interweaves our developing knowledge of anatomy and a cultural history of posture to provide a highly original account of our changing attitudes toward stiff spines, square shoulders, and flat tummies through time.

Futureproof your body and relieve chronic pain resulting from sitting, slouching, and other bad lifestyle habits with this easy-to-perform set of daily stretching and movement routines—from an innovative physical therapist and social media star who coaches dozens of celebrity clients. What if we could easily acquire long-lasting protection for our bodies and escape the chronic pain caused by our sit-all-the-time, slouch-too-much lifestyles? Vinh Pham is a world-class physical therapist who has worked with a broad range of clients—from Olympians to NBA stars to MMA fighters to Golden Globe and Grammy Award–winning artists. Early in his career, he discovered a disappointing truth: most of his patients came to him already in pain. They had lifestyle habits that misaligned their joints and tightened their muscles. And the recent epidemic of prolonged sitting—which represents an all-day assault on the body—has only made things worse. If you’re sitting for more than thirty minutes at a time without getting up, you may be heading toward a world of hurt. Vinh’s answer to the host of muscle maladies that ails us has been a revolutionary concept: why not futureproof? Instead of reacting to chronic pain after it flares up, what if we focused on a “movement discipline” that not only prevents injuries but leads to longer lives, healthier bodies, and a clearer mind? A precise and simple toolkit for tweaking the way we move (or refuse to move), Sit Up Straight outlines a process that starts with a daily posture regimen. Performed correctly, Vinh’s twelve simple movements, which can be done in twenty minutes, will lock in protection for the rest of the day. But Vinh goes further. He provides stretching and exercise routines for many of the specific ailments that affect us—from hamstring pulls to sciatica to rotator cuff problems—and, best of all, he offers a series of customized movements based on age, gender, and the kind of work we perform. “No fancy equipment required...full of good and clear tips and wisdom” (Booklist), Sit Up Straight shows that the solution to becoming pain-free is easier than we think.

Exercises for Perfect Posture is the complete guide to achieving healthy posture, providing everything from fitness programs and exercises designed to realign your spine and strengthen your shoulders, neck and back as well as guidance on how to redesign your work space to be more ergonomic. Good posture is foundational to good health. Poor posture can lead to shoulder discomfort, neck pain, and even chronic conditions such as carpel tunnel syndrome if left uncorrected. Yet the modern lifestyle and the modern workplace together make it very difficult to maintain healthy, natural posture throughout the day. Humans were not meant to spend all their time sitting down, and the “disease of inactivity” has reached near-epidemic proportions. Exercises for Perfect Posture corrects deficiencies in your posture through resistance exercises, flexibility, and cardiovascular activities that will fit any schedule. Exercises for Perfect Posture also includes: · A detailed overview of how exercise can improve your posture · Clear, informative pictures of safe, effective exercises · Detailed instructions on how to perform each movement · A complete fitness approach to restoring posture · A training log to track your progress Featuring expert-approved fitness techniques, with options ranging from resistance training to mobility movements, Exercises for Perfect Posture is the all-in-one resource for anyone looking to stand up straight and face life head-on! Exercise can improve your posture and health. With more and more people finding themselves working desk jobs and other largely seated, sedentary positions, the issues resulting from poor posture are only becoming more prevalent. The downsides of improper posture set the stage for health and mobility risks later on in life. Exercises for Perfect Posture provides the physical and preventative education necessary to improve posture and health through a comprehensive fitness program for all ages.

"Clear, easy-to-read presentation of the importance of posture or body alignment with respect to appearance, maintaining physical functioning, and preventing muscle and joint pain and disability particularly as one grows older. Includes postural self-assessment and over one hundred exercises in various short menus to correct and maintain proper body alignment."

DO you suffer from back or muscle pain? DOES the pain interfere with your life? DID you know poor posture is at the root of the majority of these problems? Poor posture can interfere with your mobility, breathing, circulation and digestion. It can contribute to overuse injuries to hands, arms and shoulders. It can affect your sense of wellbeing. IS there anything you can do to help yourself? With the help of this book the answer is a resounding – YES! Drawing on her 30 years of experience as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, Carolyn Nicholls explains exactly how to eliminate tension throughout your body and improve your habitual patterns of movement. Carolyn identifies typical behaviours that can result in unhealthy posture and explains how they can be improved. The Posture Workbook illustrates 5 key exercises to improve posture, awareness, flexibility and mobility. These ’5-A-Day’ exercises will teach you how to move more freely and easily and show you how to live your life free from postural pain. Carolyn is the founder and Head of Training at the Brighton Alexander Technique College, UK and a national advisor on clinical trials on back pain. Her first book, Body, Breath and Being – a new guide to the Alexander Technique is a great critical and commercial success.