My mother lives 600 miles away, and I swear I can hear her voice at least once a day telling me to “Stop slouching!” Because of my large breasts, early on being ashamed of them and later due to their weight, my posture has worsened through the years. I will never forget being in seventh grade, quietly sitting in class wearing a yellow shirt with fruit printed all over it and having a boy point at me and scream, “Look at the melons! Look at the melons!” I slouched my way through four grades after that. Sigh.

Jerk.

But I digress.

No matter how great your bra fits or how perfectly your dress hugs your curves, you can never look your best while hunched over.

From Slouching Sally to Perky Pam!
From Slouching Sally to Perky Pam!

I’m determined to correct my posture because severe slouching makes me look like I’ve just escaped from being imprisoned in the catacombs and because it’s painful. If I’m not using proper posture while running, I pay for it the next day with serious back and neck pain.

If I continue to slouch, especially while running, I have terrible back and neck pain that radiates from the second dot from the top in this photo.
If I continue to slouch, especially while running, I have terrible back and neck pain that radiates from the second dot from the top in this photo.

I am correcting this problem as we speak. When I was in my late teens, I was told that if I kept my abs tight throughout the day it would help me stand up straight. It actually worked! I remember it being difficult at first, and if it was difficult then, you can imagine how hard it is after giving my abs a 20-year hiatus! Let’s just say things get a little shaky around here! The key is to start contracting them for short periods of time throughout the day and to gradually extend that amount of time. I’m not going to say it might be uncomfortable because it will absolutely be uncomfortable! It takes a long time, but eventually it does become habit.

I’m curious. What methods do you use to correct bad posture?