Sit Up Straight!
August 28th 2007 13:16
I came across a discussion on myLot the other day about the instructions a person’s parents had given him as a child such as Sit up Straight, and Don’t eat with your mouth open and so on. The person seemed to be saying that such instructions should be left behind with childhood. I don’t think so.
Perhaps I’ve often been in jobs where there’s a need to watch how I sit, such as working at a desk (especially with a computer) or playing the piano (especially when rehearsing with singers and sitting for hour after hour).
I find as I get older that there’s an increased need to make sure I sit up straight if I don’t want backache (or more particularly pain around the right hip) or neck ache, something I’ve been suffering from since we’ve been in England. I’ve worked out that the neck ache comes from increased tension due to driving on roads I’m not familiar with and amongst more traffic than I’m used to. To avoid letting this become an ongoing problem I have to watch not only how I sit in the car, and how relaxed or tense I am, but how I sit when I’m at the computer or watching tv.
I’m sure my mother (the father had decamped by the time I was old enough to take instructions) told me to sit up straight frequently – and certainly my old piano teacher was a living example of how to maintain good posture. She is now in her late eighties, I would think, and still stands to her full height (some six feet or more) and sits with a wonderfully straight back.
It’s something that takes a bit of doing – and reminding oneself – but it’s essential for long term comfort. When I see young people slouching in armchairs, or slopping across sofas, I want to say: you’ll regret it in your old age!
Perhaps I’ve often been in jobs where there’s a need to watch how I sit, such as working at a desk (especially with a computer) or playing the piano (especially when rehearsing with singers and sitting for hour after hour).
I’m sure my mother (the father had decamped by the time I was old enough to take instructions) told me to sit up straight frequently – and certainly my old piano teacher was a living example of how to maintain good posture. She is now in her late eighties, I would think, and still stands to her full height (some six feet or more) and sits with a wonderfully straight back.
It’s something that takes a bit of doing – and reminding oneself – but it’s essential for long term comfort. When I see young people slouching in armchairs, or slopping across sofas, I want to say: you’ll regret it in your old age!
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