WALK TALL: WHY POSTURE MATTERS

Welcome back!  We hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and didn’t find the heat too oppressive.  I found myself slouching in the heat. I didn’t seem to have the energy to carry myself properly, whether I was standing, walking or sitting.  I was reading some books by Marion Milner at the time, and found myself jotting down some of her thoughts on posture:

‘The task is surely to learn how to hold one’s bones gently… so that the whole body is full of light.’

I didn’t feel very light in that sweaty, sticky heat, so I reminded myself of the postural advice I gave attendees on my June walking masterclasses – one-hour sessions where I focused on gait, spinal alignment and stride.   Nothing complicated, but learning to move with love and respect for the body, and particularly for the spine. Most people require a few nudges and reminders.  But the difference, when we walk with rhythm and in an upright (rather than rounded or slouched) position, is remarkable.  And participants on the class always commented on it.

Milner believes (and I agree) that we have to create our own bodies, by attending to them from the inside.  But we can also take inspiration from what’s around us.  Animals and birds don’t slouch, stoop or hunch unless they’re diseased or in pain. There’s a lovely paragraph in her book (Eternity’s Sunrise) where Milner notices that she’s slouching and stooped as she walks home with bags of shopping.  She looks up and sees a pigeon ‘his pink legs strutting, his gleaming head held high…’ Instantly her posture adjusts and she finds herself walking gracefully with head up and shoulders back. With her feet rooted to the earth, and her brain pulling skywards, she notices the delicate balance of her head and the lightness and rightness of her body.

Our posture, how we hold and carry ourselves, is vital as we grow older (actually at all times of life!). Nothing makes us look or feel as old and dejected as a hunched, bent-over body.  Of course, sometimes this can’t be helped – a lifetime of taxi-driving has left one of my elderly neighbours incurably bent forwards and stooped.  But for those of us not in this condition, now is the time to ensure we never become detrimentally and permanently stooped. Incidentally, our current culture of iPhones and laptops lends itself to terrible posture, so please forward this post to anyone spending their days bowed over their devices.

I was reminded of all this by a study published in August. A pair of researchers at Canada’s MGill University had conducted an experiment in which participants worked at laptops that were either laid flat, forcing them into a stooped position, or laptops that were placed on a measured angle, forcing them to stand tall. They were then tested and questioned. Those in the upright group reported more positive feelings.  But they also exhibited different behaviour and better cognition. They were less inclined to be cautious and were better able to weigh up facts and figures.  The decisions they made were both bolder and better than participants bent over their laptops.

But standing tall doesn’t just affect our mood, cognition and confidence.  It also has multiple benefits for our physical health.  Standing and walking with proper alignment means our weight is optimally spread across our bones, helping maintain our bone mineral density.  If we move – or sit – with hunched or rounded posture, the weight distribution can be uneven (particularly on the spine), causing undue pressure on some bones and thus weakening them. Other studies have found that stooped or slumped posture (what the researchers in one study called ‘caved-in, forward-leaning posture’) restricts thoracic (that’s the 12 vertebrae in the middle of your spine) expansion and compresses the diaphragm.

In my walking sessions, I ask attendees if they can feel the difference when they adjust their posture and the first thing they always say is that they can breath more easily and expansively – which is a result of the diaphragm enlarging. When the diaphragm expands, our lung capacity also expands, meaning we breathe more fully and deeply.  In turn, this means more oxygen can circulate in our bodies and brains, which may explain why people doing tests while upright often perform better – faster and with greater recall and accuracy.

These aren’t the only health traits to benefit from a more upright position.  Our gut also improves with our posture.   Studies published in Gut show that being more upright enables ‘faster gas clearance’ and more rapid ‘bowel transit times’.  As the researchers noted, a stooped posture constricts the intestines, resulting in trapped wind, bloating and constipation.

And if that’s not enough, it turns out that good posture also affects our eyes. A 2025 study of students found that those with the most thrust-forward heads (sometimes called ‘Text Neck’) reported the greatest amount of blurred vision and eye strain.

A 2025 study published in Science Reports found that poor posture fundamentally affected the ability to balance. Those with forward head posture (or Text Neck as it is known by medics) found balancing challenges significantly more difficult. This study reflected findings from an earlier study, where students with Text Neck couldn’t balance as well as their more upright peers. As we age, our balance becomes not important but crucial.  More old people die as the indirect result of a fall than from anything else.

‘Poor posture can lead to neck pain, back problems, and other aggravating conditions,’ says Meghan Markowski, a physical therapist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, quoted in Harvard Health. ‘Researchers are also looking into whether posture affects mood, sleep, fatigue, and jaw alignment,’ she adds.

It doesn’t stop there. Poor posture can also cause heartburn. ‘Slouching puts pressure on the abdomen, which can force stomach acid in the wrong direction,’ explains Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

And incontinence!  ‘Slouching increases abdominal pressure, which puts pressure on the bladder. The position also decreases the ability of the pelvic floor muscles to hold against that pressure,’ notes Markowski, who specialises in helping people overcome bladder, bowel, and pelvic floor problems.

As I dug deeper, I uncovered more and more. When we slouch, the bones in our spine are constantly crunched together. This takes its toll on our bones and on our skeleton, particularly our spine which can weaken, making us fragile and … feeble!  Other researchers and medics warned of hip pain, headaches, muscle fatigue, tingling fingers… all the result of imbalances created by a misaligned spine or a forward-tilted head.

Goodness me!  Who would have thought that slouching and stooping could be so detrimental?

Standing and sitting up straight aren’t difficult, but I have to remind myself constantly. During the heatwave, my entire upper body was inclined to slump.  Anyway, I pass on this information so that you too can pay special attention to your spine.  It shouldn’t be ramrod stiff, but it should be supported by your abdominal muscles, aligned (ears directly over your collar bones), and with your shoulders back.  If you’re working on a computer for long hours, make sure the screen and keyboard are at the right height (impossible if you’re using a laptop), and try not to walk while peering at your phone. Most importantly, get up and move or walk regularly

I’ll be covering this subject at my next walking masterclass in Marlborough. You can get tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.com/marlboroughlitfest

And if you’ve ever thought of taking a few days out to write and walk, there’s one place left at an upcoming writing retreat in Sussex where I’ll be mentoring. Read more here…  https://www.starcroftfarm.co.uk/writing-retreats-2026

Walk tall! You’ll feel better for it…  As ever, we love to hear from you. Please do share any tips or hints on posture.

Annabel