|| UPDATE: 22 february 2015

Posture Correction

Several of you have emailed about this posture corrector I have written about wearing. It is an inexpensive $17 one I found on Amazon. It is the Duro Med Posture Corrector.

I chose this economical model because I did not want to invest much money for my first trial with a posture corrector. But I am finding that it does its job well.

Unfortunately, the Duro Med is too scratchy and rough to be worn directly against the skin. Needs to be worn over a thin t-shirt. Or as I am currently wearing it, over my light-weight L.L. Bean thermal underwear top with a sweater over the posture corrector. If your sweater is not too tight, the outline of the posture corrector underneath will not be visible.

Both the corrector’s shoulder straps and the band around the waist can be adjusted by the large Velcro fasteners for more precise personal fit.

Precise personal fit is why I think the Duro Med’s design is better than some other models I considered. From my experience wearing the posture corrector, I believe it is important for maximum benefit to be able to adjust both the length of the shoulder straps and the waist band for personal fit. Some models offer only waist band adjustment, some neither waist nor shoulder. The Duro Med is offered in 5 sizes.

What does it feel like wearing the posture corrector?

Sort of like wearing a size too small control top pantyhose on your shoulders.

|| Original Post: || 5 february 2015

A “posture corrector” a wrist weight, a back pillow, and back to regular yoga help Anne restore good posture.

The first week I was SO discouraged by my limited progress. Unless I was specifically focused on standing straight, I seemed to slip into a lopsided right shoulder lower than left stance. And it hurt to stand properly.

Oh, dear! The pain indicated that I had really let those muscles form bad habits. I am beginning to see some progress in my efforts to restore good posture. But I am not at consistently good posture yet.

From the email I received after my posture Nouvelles, I know that many of you find that you, too, must make an effort to maintain good posture. One reader emailed she was enrolling in a yoga class.

Yoga and ballet are two of the most popular methods women have used through the centuries to develop and maintain good posture. I must confess that during the time my posture deteriorated so badly, I was neglecting my usual yoga workouts. (Neglecting my Pilates workouts too. Unfortunately.)

In the previous posture Nouvelles, I mentioned using a wrist weight on my left wrist to try to pull my left shoulder down to a level even with my right shoulder. Tuesday the weather was mild enough for a very pleasant exercise walk. In fact, the weather was so pleasant that I lengthened the walk. But about the 30 minutes point, it began to feel as if that wrist weight was going to pull my left arm out of the shoulder socket. The solution was to take the wrist weight off my wrist and drape it over my left shoulder, like an epaulet, better distributing the weight so that the effect was concentrated on the shoulder, not on the arm.

I am also wearing my back pillow again. This is a DYI affair that nonetheless is an excellent support whenever I am sitting. Just a little 18 x 20 inch (46 x 51 cm) cotton-covered, foam-stuffed pillow that I bought years ago. Five inches in from the left and right sides I have put a thick rubber band around the pillow, making it a more rounded shape. Through the rubber bands I have inserted a woven cotton tie-belt. The belt enables me to tie the pillow in place on my lower back. I just have to remember to take it off when I go outside. It looks funny.

But it is the best support I have found for supporting my back when sitting. (And I have bought and given away several of those “medically-designed” back supports that did not work as well.)

FedEx just delivered another aid that I ordered to help with my posture correction project. I have long seen these “posture correctors” advertised, but never actually tried one. There are numerous designs, but the one I chose is one of those crisscross in back and fasten in the front contraptions that is supposed to pull your shoulders back. (I understand that they make the wearer decidedly miserable after about 10 minutes.) I have not yet tried this one on. I will let you know how this corrector works out.

be chic, stay slim — Anne Barone

---

|| 1 february 2015

Posture Correction Project

A tote works as a reminder to maintain posture as lovely as that of the chic actress Audrey Hepburn.

Isn’t this Breakfast at Tiffany’s tote fun? A Christmas gift from a dear friend who knows how much I admire the late actress Audrey Hepburn.

The tote is currently serving a double function. As a tote, of course. But I keep it sitting out where I can see it as a reminder of my current posture correction project.

Audrey Hepburn had such lovely posture that her image is the best reminder I can think of to remind me of my current project.

A very necessary project because without my realizing it, a number of factors combined to ruin my usually good posture. By the time I became aware of what was happening, my posture did not so much resemble that of a chic Parisienne as that of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

When the weather turns very cold I always have a tendency to hunch. And I was very tired from two weeks of getting only about 4 hours sleep a night when I was dealing with a very active convalescing kitty cat that I having to monitor to keep from tearing out her stitches. Plus, because the weather was cold, instead of half-buckets I was carrying very heavy full buckets of dishwashing water out to my plants. Unfortunately always with my right arm so that I pulled my right shoulder forward and down. And I was so cold and tired, I neglected to straighten back up after the water-carrying.

I looked deformed.

So now I am into the second week of the straightening back up project. Correcting my posture has been far more painful and difficult than I imagined. But with exercises, and mirrors to keep me aware, and a wrist weight for my left wrist to help pull that arm down to level my shoulders, I am making progress.

Lopsided is not chic. I must persevere. My Breakfast at Tiffany’s tote is a nice reminder to stay on track toward regaining posture as lovely as Audrey Hepburn's.

be chic, stay slim — Anne Barone

Nouvelles Index