Posture
POSTURE
A position that the body can assume, e.g. standing, sitting, kneeling, or lying down. Hence, it is very important to know how to stand, sit, raise questions or opinion in any corporate meetings.
Good posture displays confidence.
Don't slouch- sit and stand upright.
Don't fidget- it is annoying and a sign of boredom.
Keep hands away from your mouth when speaking.
Honor others personal space.
Break nervous habits, such as gum chewing, drumming fingers, hair twirling, nail biting etc.
Don't show the soul of your shoes while sitting in the meetings.
WHY HAVE A GOOD POSTURE?
There are 5 key benefits from maintaining a good posture.
1. Facilitates breathing: A good posture naturally enables you to breathe properly. Start meditating regularly for a few months and you find a really a huge difference in the amount of air you could inhale between sitting up straight and slouching. This is why yoga, pilates and meditation exercises pay so much attention on getting your posture and sitting positions right.
2. Increases concentration and thinking ability: When you are breathing properly, you increase your thinking ability too. Our brain requires 20% of oxygen to do its job properly. More air, more oxygen. More oxygen, more brain food. More brain food leads to more thoughts and ideas.
3. Improve your image: People with good postures look smarter and more attractive. Have you ever seen someone with a bad posture and felt the person seemed unkempt, even though the person has not said or done anything yet? On the flip side, someone with a good posture naturally exudes an aura of assertiveness and appeal.
4. Feel even better about yourself: When you have a good posture, it helps to make you feel more self-confident, without even doing anything else differently. Try sitting in a bad posture now for 30 seconds. Now, switch to a good posture for 30 seconds as well. Is there any difference in how you felt?
5. Avoid health complications: A bad posture results in several complicationsover time, such as increased risks of slipped disc, back aches, back pain, pressure inside your chest, poor blood circulation. When I was studying in business school, I had a professor who suffered from a slip disc when he was younger. Unfortunately, he is unable to straighten his back ever since the incident and he now walks with a permanent slouch.
How To Improve Your Posture
Here are 13 tips which can improve your posture and keep it that way:
1. Identify your key motivation for having a good posture: Why do you want a good posture? Is it to improve your breathing? To boost others' perception of you? Feel more confident about yourself? To avoid health problems? Be clear on your underlying desire so you can remind yourself of it whenever you feel lazy to do anything about your posture.
2. Pretend your body is held by a string: Use this analogy which you will find helpful to correct your posture. It might sound weird, but it's pretty effective. Pretend that your spine and head is held up by a string from the ceiling all the time. If you are lying down, pretend the string is held in a direction parallel to the ground. Focus on keeping your spine and head aligned with the string while relaxing other parts of your body. Usually people end up tensing all other parts of their body when trying to keep a right posture.
What this does is it keeps you focused on keeping your back straight and loosening your other muscles.
3. Set a reminder to check in on your posture: Many of us may have the
intention to keep a good posture, but we usually forget about it after like 5 minutes! A reminder in the form of a post-it note, item in your calendar, alarm, etc definitely helps. The frequency is up to you, from once a day to as frequent as every 15 minutes.
With sufficient reminders, you will start kicking into a good posture naturally soon.
4. Get a head, shoulder and back massage: If you have always been in abad posture, you will find that it's hard to change your posture due to the hardening of your joints. I found that getting a massage loosens up my joints, which makes it easier for me to get into a better posture afterward.
5. Eliminate bad habits that cultivate bad postures: This includes watching TV/reading while lying down, working under dim light (which results in slouching), sleeping on your stomach (apparently 7% of people do that!).
6. Get a good quality chair: A good chair will be one that has a sufficiently firm and dense cushion with back support. For me, I prefer the back of the chair to run up to at least my shoulders so I can place them against it.
7. Place your butt at the innermost edge of the chair: This seemingly benign tip actually helps set the right base for your posture. Many people have bad postures because they place their butt on the middle or towards the end of the chair. This causes them to lean/slouch forward and hunch since there is no support behind their backs to press against.
8. Get a back cushion: Buy a seat cushion and put it at the back of your chair. Whenever you sit, make sure your back is wedging the cushion against the chair. Whenever you lean forward, the cushion will fall down, which will act as a reminder to shift back into your proper posture.
9. Ground both your feet when standing or sitting. This means having both feet planted flat on the floor and not resting your weight on a particular foot, which is a very common habit. While sitting, try not to cross your legs. This helps to keep the upper part of our body straight.
10. Invest in a good bed and pillow: Get a mattress that is firm and not too soft. The soft mattresses where you sink into may feel nice and comfy initially, but is not good for your back/posture. In the hotels I've stayed in before for my past business trips, some of the hotels had really soft mattresses and pillows which just left myback and neck aching in pain the next day! For your pillow, consider investing in an orthopedic pillow. There are quite a few different designs in the market now. The most common is contour pillows, which are pillows that arch and support your head. Another type is the neck pillow, a horse shoe shape pillow which is great for traveling.
11. Avoid carrying heavy items: Just the act of carrying heavy items is bad for our shoulders and back. Attempting to do so over an extended period of time gradually leads to hunched shoulders and backs. If you are a student, you probably do this every day with all the books for classes. For professionals, it might be your laptop and work materials which you have to lunge around to and fro. If it's not possible to reduce the load of things you carry around, you can consider getting a trolley bag or roller bag these are really convenient and are becoming common place.
12. Engage in exercises which strengthen your back: These include pilates, yoga, exercise balls and simple stretching. If you do sit-ups or crunches, ensure you are using the right technique otherwise, you will end up hurting your back instead.
13. Get a professional assessment: If you have an extremely bad posture and a history of back injuries or back aches, it will be good to visit a chiropractor or physical therapist for a professional assessment. He/she can advise you on how to better take care of your back.
POSTURE TO BE MAINTAINED DURING A CORPORATE MEETING
You should take care to practice in front of a mirror to analyze your body posture before meeting someone of great importance for the first time. Your body movements and gestures must be carefully analyzed before the meeting. Be careful about the way you look and act. Your actions are non verbal messages and it should coincide with what you are saying.
The initial impressions on the way you act, sit or stand are more important than what you have to say. Your body posture expresses many things about you. If you want to attract the attention of the person to whom you are communicating your body posture must be pleasant.
Always maintain a sweet smile on your face during the meeting. Smile has a wonderful and pleasant effect on others. A genuine smile will always work in attracting others especially women. It lets every body feel that you are a friendly and harmless person. You cannot go wrong in attracting a person if you are carrying a smile on your face.
A powerful eye contact is essential for attracting people. You should deliberately practice developing the ability to maintain positive eye contact with people you are communicating. Be natural in the way you are making the eye contact and don't stare at the person.
You must ensure that you are standing upright when you are talking to a person for the first time. The upright posture will always generate a positive impression on you. Having a proper upright posture conveys the message that you are a healthy, strong and self confident person. It makes a person look more attractive. Your body movements should be confident.
Your movements and actions during the communication will be carefully noticed by others. It reflects the confidence in you. You can practice the body movements in front of mirror to make it perfect. Self confidence is most important for a person's success.
You have to touch the person on the body during the process of communication. Light touches are harmless during a conversation. The way you shake handswith the other person is also important. A slight pat on the hand or shoulder often exhibits your level of affection. Gentle touches during the conversation have the ability to break the ice.
Walk confidently with your head up. The positioning of your head shows your level of self confidence. You should also give a firm handshake. When you are sitting on a chair, sit straight and lean forward. This indicates your level of interest and attentiveness to the person.
You must be careful to control nervous gestures like hair twisting, nail biting or pen clicking. You must instead show warm and positive gestures like smiling and gentle touching. You must also avoid cold gestures like not smiling or avoiding eye contact and placing hands on the hips.
IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE IN COMMUNICATION
When working with other people, verbal communication is only one of the ways that you show others emotion, approval, disappointment and confidence. How you walk, how you position yourself when talking and how you use your facial expression are all cues that other people rely on when making assessments about your abilities and current state of mind.
Using Body Language in the Workplace
The more you understand body language and its affect on others, the better you will be in communicating with co-workers, bosses, clients, vendors and others you encounter during the day. By making simple adjustments to your posture, facial expressions and mannerisms, you can improve the way others view you. Assessing how people view you is necessary in order to make changes. Adjustments can include the following:
Maintaining a relaxed posture while walking or during a meeting. Relaxed posture indicates you're comfortable in your surroundings and not under stress. Even if you experience stress while working on a project, when you reduce the appearance of stress, those around you will feel more comfortable and will have more faith in your abilities to lead, delegate responsibility and manage the project.
Mannerisms such as fidgeting, moving around a room while talking, breaking eye contact with others frequently and other bodily quirks you have can be seen as a distractionto those around you. These mannerisms can make you appear anxious, unprepared, unorganized, and stressed even if you're not. Learn how to control these mannerisms by taking note of when they occur, how often they occur, and consider ways to alter them. Many times, mannerisms are just old habits that need to be broken.
Learning how to control your facial expressions can help you become more successful in the workplace. If people often ask if you're upset or angry, it may be because you're constantly frowning or you appear sad. Change your facial expressions by practicing in the mirror. Find an expression that is relaxed and calm and make an attempt to wear it as often as possible around others. Once you have learned how to use your body language to communicate more effectively in the workplace, you will notice a change in how others react to you.
CASE STUDY
THE CASE OF THE MISSING GRIP
An administrative assistant extended her hand when the job applicant entered the room. Not only did the applicant failed to extend his hand but also said "I don't shake hands with women." When the assistant brought the applicant's file to her boss, she told him what had happened. The candidate DID NOT GET THE JOB as the job involved frequent interaction with people. The applicant called the following day to apologize for his behavior, but it was too late.
YOGA
The word Yoga comes from the root word 'YUJ' in Sanskrit, it literally means union, and in this context refers to the union of the individual's soul with the universal soul. Yogais an ancient philosophy of life as well as a system of exercises that encourages the union of mind, body, and spirit. It is the best exercise for gaining correct posture.ini alad wil
GENERAL BENEFITS OF YOGA
The benefits of yoga are extensive. Not only does yoga affect the physical aspect of the body, it addresses the mind and spirit as well. Daily exercises are a great way to help relieve the stress of your day and can bring a sense of well-being to your life.
Benefits on a Physical Level:
1. Improves Functions of Muscles
Yogasanas or Yoga Postures involves the controlled contraction and relaxation (stretching) of specific muscle groups. This contraction and relaxation of the muscle group improves circulation and tones the muscles. A counter posture or yogasana is used work the opposite muscle group to bring about a balance.
2. Improves Stability & Flexibility of Joints
These exercises stretch & relax various ligaments & tendons in our body which help to improve circulation to the bones, muscles, ligaments & tendons. This helps to improve flexibility of ligaments & tendons which ultimately lead to strongly supported & flexible joints. This not only gives you a good posture in your day to day activities but can be a best preventive measure to avoid injuries to muscles & joints due to sudden impact or action or strain.
3. Improves Posture & Functions of Individual Body Parts
While practicing Yoga postures, we concentrate on the anatomy & physiology of that part of the body which is in action or going to get affected. This helps in the integration of mind with thebody. By visualization of our body inside out, we can detect any postural or functional defect in that part. This helps to diagnose present problems or effects of problems from past or even future health problems of our body. In short, you can be your own 'Diagnostic Aid' with the help of Yoga.
4. Protects our Spine
Yoga postures help by giving gentle stretching or traction, torsion & relaxation to our vertebral joints (joints in the spinal bones called vertebrae). This helps to improve circulation in muscles & ligaments supporting our spinal column & intervertebral discs (cushions in between our vertebrae). We also achieve a good posture & good protection from possible spinal problems due to temporary & prolonged improper postures or any sudden action or impact on the spine. Certain Yoga postures like Marjarasan (Cat posture) provide exercise exclusively to our spine & improve functions of spine.
5. Enhances Functions of Internal Organs & Glands
Yoga postures not only tone up our external muscles but also help to relax, revitalize & tone our core muscles & internal organs. Practicing Yoga postures with focus on our internal organs & glands definitely improves circulation which results in cleansing of organs, improvement in their cellular metabolism & functions. This leads to healthy body with good immunity. Yoga is quite popular as a 'Therapy' for many systemic & functional diseases. We can correct some health problems with the help of an expert Yoga Therapist.
6. Protects & Improves Alignment of Hormonal Axis in Women
In women, Yoga helps for alignment of the hormonal axis i.e. interdependent functions of Pituitary Gland, Thyroid Gland, Ovaries & Uterus. Any imbalance in this axis leads to menstrual & procreative malfunction in a woman.
7. Guidance about Effective Utilization of our Energy
Improper postures, stiff joints & muscles, lack of circulation & poor performance of skeleton & internal organs are main causes of wastage of physical energy. We hardly realize but just working in improper postures for long time snatches part of our energy. If we can conserve this loss of energy, we can work with far better physical & mental performance. Yes, our physical stresses affect our intellectual & emotional performance to a large extent. Yoga provides guidance to improve our body postures & physiological functions which helps to improve our physical performance & also saves our energy.
8. Acts as a Rejuvenator on a Cellular Level
When we are under stress, our body functions are accelerated which increases wear & tear of cells unnecessarily. While practicing Yoga, the stretching & relaxation of muscles along with gentle massage to internal organs help to release hormones inducing pleasure & relaxation in body. Our body releases more toxins & absorbs more oxygen which improves energy levels & functions of organs. Yoga alsohelps to calm our nervous activities & provides relaxation to internal organs. On a whole, yoga helps in the rejuvenation of our cells and the overall effect of this practice results in a 'healthy, youthful and energetic personality'.
Benefits on a Mental Level:
1. Helps to Control Harmful Emotional Surges & Impulses
As we discussed above, our physical problems affect mental performance. This is also true vice versa. Status of our mind-health affects our body functions to a large extent. This is what we call 'Psycho-somatic effect' or effect of mind on body.
If we can handle our emotions & impulses better then we can achieve a good physical health too. Yoga guides us to achieve this complete health status called 'Holistic Health'.
Yoga helps us to handle stressful situation better & that is why all Business gurus recommend Yoga to improve psychological health of employers & employees.
2. Improves Intellectual Functions
Yoga improves our concentration and comprehension. While practicing Yoga postures, Pranayam (breath regulation techniques) & Meditation we learn to integrate our body & mind. This also increases awareness about the world inside our body.
We learn to acknowledge our own physical & mental status while practicing Yoga & this helps as diagnostic guide for our own body & mind problems.
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