The next time we go out on the street let’s try to direct our attention to the people we meet: we will notice in this way that each person will have a different posture from the other. We will most likely see people hunched over with their heads bent downwards, others who will walk with their legs bent dragging their feet, others with open shoulders and a high chin. Posture and psychophysical well-being are therefore interrelated.
The balance system of our body is constantly looking for the best position with respect to the external forces that unbalance it and to the earth’s center of gravity, even when we do not realize it. The posture we maintain for the longest time during our days will be the primary one since the muscles will adapt by contracting and relaxing unconsciously to maintain it, consequently changing the position of the bones and joints.
We can define posture as the position that our body deems most suitable to use in order to be in harmony with the force of gravity and that it is also the least expensive possible from an energy point of view. From when we get up in the morning until we go to bed in the evening, our posture changes and adapts by modifying itself even more than twenty times in order to maintain our balance, whether we are in an upright, static or moving position. sitting or lying down.
What are the physiological mechanisms that regulate posture
From the biomechanical point of view, our balance is controlled by the so -called vestibular systemwhich allows us to interact with the external environment in harmony with the force of gravity. This anatomical apparatus is located at the level of the inner ear and is connected to various motor nerve centers that control certain muscles, ensuring the maintenance of balance and the ideal position.
Depending on the movements of the head, the vestibular apparatus acts differently: when we perform rotational movements, the circular channels are activated and on the contrary, if linear movements are performed, the utricle and saccule will provide the consequent stimuli to our nervous system. From the labyrinthinstead, information is sent about the acceleration and velocity characteristics of the head in space. These data about its displacement are also essential for the correct maintenance of balance.
The brain area that acquires and processes all the feedback coming from the vestibular pathways and the lobe of the insula . From this anatomical portion some fibers depart which reach the nuclei of the cerebral bulb and from these to the cerebellum . Finally, all the motor responses necessary for unconscious and automatic control are processed here thanks to the activation of the various skeletal muscles.
Posture, however, is not just a purely physiological issue. Other factors, specifically emotional, psychological and relational, also contribute to its regulation. In fact, the commands that reach the skeletal muscles are also linked to mental stimuli that agree with the emotion and state of mind we feel at the moment and in the context with which we interact.
Consequently, emotions mainly linked to the feeling of danger will have a very specific impact on our psychophysical well -being . Our posture and muscle activation will be very different when we are relaxed watching a beautiful sunset. Or in front of an audience waiting for our speech. Or when we chat with friends over an informal aperitif.
How posture influences psychophysical well-being
We now know, therefore, that posture is also linked to emotional factors . These activate specific brain areas that will influence the activation of certain muscles having the function of adapting to perceived emotional stimuli. Each emotion corresponds to a specific muscle activation that will follow very specific patterns inherited from our ancient ancestors.
Fear will lock your shoulders forward and lower your head to make us less visible to any predators. Anger , on the contrary, will open the chest and raise the head to make us visibly bigger and more aggressive and to be able to counteract a danger. Joy _it will detonate a cascade of hormones and neurotransmitters that will balance our endocrine system by relaxing the most contracted muscle areas. And so on.
The emotions most frequently experienced during the day will have an influence on the level of muscle contraction and decontraction of the related areas. In addition, they will also modify the trophism in the same way in which continuous physical training stimulates the growth of certain muscle areas.
The peculiarity of this adaptation system is that in the long term it will become unconscious and feed the consequent emotion in parallel. The modified posture will in turn affect the same emotion, in a vicious circle that could eventually become dysfunctional.
To promote psychophysical well -being, it will be necessary to act on the muscular, food and emotional components by modifying them in a complete and synergistic way. The changes obtained by acting on only one of the factors will not be lasting and complete.
How to act best to promote your psychophysical well-being
The first step will be to become more aware of your postureand its links with emotions during the different moments of the day. It will need to be corrected voluntarily until it becomes spontaneous and natural thanks to repetition. Secondly, it is necessary to act through specific physical exercises. These will strengthen the muscles weakened by years of incorrect postures by recreating a correct balance from a purely structural point of view.
Finally, at the food level, habits must be changed by looking for foods rich in nutrients useful for improving mood. In addition to integrating with products that help achieve psychophysical well-being . Like the wonderful ginseng , perfect for regaining serenity and rebalancing the emotional aspectthanks to its properties capable of lowering cortisol levels .
A mixed formula of conditionally essential amino acids and electrolytes will be very useful to counter the psychophysical exhaustion caused by any negative thoughts . Finally, an inevitable multivitamin and multimineral correctly balanced with all the micronutrients will allow us to take all those elements so useful and fundamental to the physiological balance and our daily psychophysical well -being.
