Human position: Encyclopedia II - Human position - Optimal human positions and balanced erect posture

Human position - Optimal human positions and balanced erect posture

Posture is the emergent alignment of the body that remains relatively constant in its underlying structure and unity across various forms of human positions. It refers to the unconscious and stable structural disposition of the body framework attained over a long period of continuous body movements and patterns.

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These stable postures attained over time is a result of ones lifestyle and orientation. Over time people come to attain an average posture, bad or inefficient posture, and sometimes a good or effective posture. The quality or effectiveness of posture is related to the proportionate structure of the body framework and the optimal balance of the body.

A bad posture or slouching posture is unable to optimally distribute weight across the body framework and hence is ineffective. An average posture is able to maintain distribution of weight and form but does not attain optimal form and maintenance. A good posture or an erect posture is able to completely and optimally attain balance and proportion of the body mass and framework. A well proportioned erect posture optimizes breathing and effects the circulation of bodily fluids. An erect posture is therefore most desirable and highly effective for the body structure and proportion.

An erect posture or well proportioned posture involves various elements of the body and its co-ordination. It includes optimally unfurling the spine until the lower back curves inside while holding the chest raised high without straining breathing. The head assumes an optimal position while keeping the chin parallel to the ground. In an erect posture the shoulders are very straight and pulled back. This acts like the yardarm (horizontal spar on the mast of a ship). Hence while bending, even though the spine would curve, the posture still remains erect because the shoulders remain straight and pulled back maintaining the body proportion and balance. The optimal structural alignment of the body leads to a straight back. This structural alignment consolidates over a long span of time leading to a well balanced posture that becomes a natural disposition.

In posturology, posture is elaboration and active preservation of the configuration of the various segments of the body in the space, it expresses the way body faces the stimulation of the outside world and gets ready to react to it.

It is the fruit of a tonic and phasic muscular activity: 'The configuration of the various segments of the body in space' is elaborated on a mode rather phasic but not exclusively, it is maintained on a rather tonic mode but not exclusively.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Optimal human positions and balanced erect posture", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki