The knowledge: how to improve your posture

Standing too straight is just as bad as slouching, says Brita Forsstrom, an expert in the Alexander Technique

Make it Easy 'Good' posture is surprisingly effortless - we only need actively to use 14 out of 640-odd muscles for standing up. And although 'bad' posture is most often identified as slouching, standing up straight like a sergeant major, poking the chest out and tilting the head back is actually just as unhealthy. You should also watch out for leaning down on to one hip, and pulling the shoulders back, too

Start at the Beginning Nearly all postural problems originate from tension in the neck, caused by jutting the chin up and out. If you don't deal with this first, any other measures are just sticking plasters. Stop pulling your head back, let your head release forward and allow your entire spine to lengthen. Loosen your arms and shoulders; we are designed to use our hands in front of our body, so don't force them back

Mix it Up Don't get stuck in one position for hours on end; change the way you sit for different working modes. Rest back when reading through something, and sit up near the front of the seat when you are writing. Lean forward from the hips, rather than slumping forward. Every time the phone rings, use it as an alarm bell to remind you to lengthen your neck and loosen your shoulders

Keep Your Feet on the Ground If you spend all day behind a desk, sit with your knees a little apart and your feet flat on the floor. Crossing your legs will twist your spine, put pressure on your knees and hips, and compress your lower back

Take Your Eyes Off It Eyes play an important role in balance and posture. Turn away from the computer screen and look around regularly. Having your screen at eye level is only helpful if you sit effortlessly straight-backed already. Try tilting the screen slightly downwards instead, to lengthen the back of the neck and prevent tension building up in the shoulders

Stand Tall Bad posture causes muscles to shorten and us to shrink. People who give the impression of being under-confident look both physically and figuratively 'down'. If you feel nervous when performing or giving a presentation, try standing with one foot behind the other rather than leaning down on to your hip; you will feel more balanced, and look more confident

Get an Expert Opinion 'Curious things, habits. People themselves never know they have them.' So said Agatha Christie, and the same applies to our own posture; it's almost impossible to self-diagnose habits that we have spent a lifetime acquiring. The Alexander Technique teaches you that what is actually straight may feel crooked initially, and puts you back on track

Stop! Undo a day's tension by spending 20 minutes every day in the 'active resting' position. Lie on your back on a carpeted floor, with your feet on the floor and knees bent pointing upwards towards the ceiling, to free up your lower back. Support your head on some books, so that your head isn't tilted back, but not so much that your chin is at your chest. This position will help release tension, particularly in the spine, and give immediate benefit

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Segway sales hit all time high, thanks OPEC!

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 16th 2008 at 8:54AM

We get that rising gas prices are putting folks in a world of hurt, but has it really gotten so bad that we're resorting to losing our dignity riding Segways? According to a recent writeup in The Wall Street Journal, "sales at Segway Inc. have risen to an all-time high," and CEO Jim Norrod fully expects sales this quarter to "jump 50% from a year earlier." Not surprisingly, many of its new customers are universities and public service divisions who are replacing traditional vehicles with the all-electric scooters, but we still get the impression that individuals are steering clear due to its remarkably high price and laughable design. At least, that's what we'll continue to tell ourselves.
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Literary Lion

Q: At the age of 82, you will be publishing your new collection of essays this week, which seems likely to confirm your reputation as one of America’s last public intellectuals. Why do you think that critics have traditionally praised your essays more than your fiction, which includes “Burr,” “Myra Breckinridge” and 20 other novels? That’s because they don’t know how to read. I can’t name three first-rate literary critics in the United States . I’m told there are a few hidden away at universities, but they don’t print them in The New York Times .

Are you saying your novels have been critically neglected? I don’t even read most reviews, unless there is a potential lawsuit on view. I’ve never had much attention paid by critics — nor has anybody else in the United States of America, as Mr. Obama likes to call it.

And what about Mr. McCain? Disaster. Who started this rumor that he was a war hero? Where does that come from, aside from himself? About his suffering in the prison war camp?

Everyone knows he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. That’s what he tells us.

Why would you doubt him? He’s a graduate of Annapolis. I know a lot of the Annapolis breed. Remember, I’m West Point, where I was born. My father went there.

So what does that have to do with the U.S. Naval Academy down in Annapolis? The service universities keep track of each other, that’s all. They have views about each other. And they are very aware of social class and eventually money, since they usually marry it.

How, exactly, is your cousin Al Gore related to you? They keep explaining it to me, and I keep forgetting.

What about your grandfather, Thomas Gore of Oklahoma ? He invented the whole state. It was Indian territory. There was no state until Senator Gore.

In 1968, during the Nixon-Humphrey race, you became the voice of liberalism in a series of televised debates with William Buckley. Any plans to be a pundit at the coming presidential conventions? No.

How did you feel when you heard that Buckley died this year? I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred.

You live in California , where last month the State Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage . As someone who lived with a male companion for 50-plus years, do you see this as a victory for equality? People would ask, How could you live with someone for so long without any problems of any kind? I said, There was no sex.

Were you chaste during those years? Chased by whom?

Are you a supporter of gay marriage? I know nothing about it. I don’t follow that.

Why doesn’t it interest you? The same reason heterosexual marriage doesn’t seem to interest me.

If we look at the situation apart from you — It’s my interview, so we’ve got to stay with me.

Have you ever considered leaving the United States permanently? No, it’s my subject.

Do you read a lot of contemporary fiction these days? Like everyone else, no, I don’t.

Anyone in the 20th century you might have a kind word about? Yes, I liked Italo Calvino, and I thought he was the greatest writer of my time.

Your new collection includes an essay in which you note, “Calvino does what very few writers can do: he describes imaginary worlds with the most extraordinary precision and beauty.” What about American novelists? Can’t think of one.

Norman Mailer? Oh, dear, we’re not going to go into pluses and minuses now.

Philip Roth? Ditto.

I admire Roth. He never became complacent. He had no reason to. He’s a good comic writer.

What do you think is your own best novel? I don’t answer questions like that. Ever. And you ought not to ask them.

Well, it was a great pleasure talking to you. I doubt that.

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