Not only does good posture spell poise and make you look a few inches taller, it also makes you look slimmer and helps prevent injuries. Almost everyone needs some degree of posture improvement.
Here, we tackle some common posture flaws.

1. Your head tends to drop to one side. For this, we have neck strengthening exercises.

2. Elevated shoulders cause problems in the concerned muscles. Try back exercises like bent over rows.

3. The most common posture error is a rounded back that comes from years of working at a desk, playing the piano or knitting. A tight chest and front shoulder muscles with over-stretched back muscles causes this hunch. It is also commonly found in body builders who overtrain their chest muscles.

It limits the range of motion around the shoulder joint resulting in frozen shoulders ie they tend to become stiff. Secondly the muscles around this area are liabile to tear. The rounded back can cause chronic back pain; in a worst case scenario, it can cause a slip disc.

The second most common error is where the hip is swung backwards, arching the lower back and locking the knees. A result of tight lower back muscles and tight hip flexor muscles (located at the front of the hip), this can be caused because of wearing very high heels. This posture is also commonly seen in celebrity pictures, where they push their chest and hips in an attempt to look ‘hot’.

The arched back puts a lot of pressure on the vertebrae and can result in a range of problems, including chronic back pain ahd slip disc. The locked knees wear away the knee cartridge and you could end up with knee problems.

4. The other common posture misalignment one sees is standing with more weight on one leg than the other, with the hip pushed out to the side or constantly shifting weight from one leg to the other.

These also cause problems in the concerned muscles and, consequently, in the joint the muscle is supporting.