A group of men and women were asked to examine photographs of two different women who were the same age and height. One of the women weighed 105 lbs. and the other woman weight 120 lbs.
When questioned which women looked thinner and younger, the group of men and women examining the photos, consistently said the 120 lb. woman looked thinner and younger.
Interestingly enough, when the group was showed just the faces of the two women in the photos, they thought both women were of similar age.
So why would the heavier of the two women look younger and thinner in a full length photo?
Believe it or not, the factor that made the heavier woman look both younger and thinner was her POSTURE!
It’s not surprising that between hunching over computers, watching TV, picking up kids and packages, poor mattresses, standing in line and stress, (tightening our shoulders, neck and back muscles) that our posture suffers.
When it suffers, your gut looks wider and can actually create a pot-belly look. This clearly affects others perception of you. It is very important to remember that poor posture during sitting is of crucial importance because it can eventually negatively affect your standing posture.
Posture expert, Jane Novak, suggests that the worst culprit is the constant hunching we do when working on computers. She says that negative permanent structural change in our vertebrae and back pain can occur if we don’t do something about it.
How is your posture?
What I have found to be the fastest and easiest way to correct both sitting and standing posture and instantly make you look 10-15 pounds thinner, taller and appear, generally more attractive, is a quick adjustment that Novak recommends and I call it a “sternum lift”.
The “sternum lift” will immediately begin to realign your joints, muscles and bones to keep you upright and prevent your ribcage from pushing down on your mid-section, preventing you from looking fatter and pot-bellied.
The “sternum lift” literally takes just a few seconds and you should remind yourself to do it many times during the day when sitting or standing.
The sternum is the bone in the middle part of your chest. By raising it up an inch or two, it prevents your rib-cage from collapsing on your abdomen which prevents it from bulging and looking wider, while at the same time prevents rounding out of your lower back.
By lifting your sternum upwards, you will make your waist and belly look many inches smaller and create a longer, leaner and more youthful looking figure.
Now that you are aware of it, notice how many times during the day your sternum is lowered, your shoulders are hunched forward, your lower back is rounded and your rib-cage is pressing or resting on your stomach.
The “sternum lift” is simply the fastest, easiest and most effective adjustment you can make to dramatically improve your posture and look thinner, healthier, more attractive and younger.
Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S.
