Lose 10lb and look a decade younger in ONE WEEK by improving posture

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What’s the quickest and easiest way to look more beautiful? Simple: stand up straight, pull your shoulders back and hold your tummy muscles in.Experts say you’ll appear 10 lb lighter and be perceived as healthier, more confident, alert — and more youthful. Better yet, it’s one of the most effective ways to beat back pain.That’s the good news. The bad news is that a study released last week showed that women have 20 per cent worse posture than men.Scroll down for video  Experts say with good posture, you’ll appear 10 lb lighter and be perceived as healthier, more confident, alert — and more youthfulFollow our fail-safe tips to improve your posture and you’ll look as though you’ve dropped a dress size — and a decade — by the end of the week.TRY A POSTURE ALARMThe Lumo Lift (£79.99, and Apple stores) is described by the manufacturers as a ‘posture management device’. This sensitive little gadget contains highly advanced software that is tuned to the fine movements of the upper body.It can detect when you’re slouching and be set to vibrate gently every time you fall into bad postural habits — reminding you to sit or stand tall and pull your shoulders back.It is also a pedometer, and can be linked via Bluetooth to your laptop or mobile phone to track and analyse not just your posture but also your daily activity and calories burned throughout the day. The Lumo Lift (pictured) is described as a ‘posture management device’ which detects when you’re slouching and vibrates when you fall into bad postural habitsRAID THE SHEDThere are a couple of low-tech tricks that will also keep you posture aware, which health experts advocate as surprisingly effective.Hold in your stomach muscles and tie a piece of string around your waist so that it’s snug. When you slouch, the pressure of the string will act as a reminder.Similarly, you can use masking tape or any other tape (as long as it won’t harm your skin or clothes) as a back posture reminder.Roll your shoulders back and down then ask someone to stick the tape in a X- shape, from the top of your right shoulder to the left hip, and from the top of your left shoulder to the right hip.The tape pulling when you slouch will help you sit upright. RELATED ARTICLES

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MASSAGE AWAY ‘TECH NECK’New research by Dr Ken Hansraj, a respected spine surgeon, suggests that the persistent ‘dropped head’ posture we adopt to stare at our phones and tablets is so stressful on the neck and spine that many of us may eventually need surgery to correct the postural problems.While some beauty salons have started offering treatments to tackle the tight, hunched shoulders and stiffness known as ‘Tech Neck’, you can do it yourself.Massage experts suggest tilting your head back and using the palms and fingers of both hands to gently squeeze the muscles across the tops of your shoulders and up the sides and back of your neck. The persistent ‘dropped head’ posture we adopt to use our phones and tablets is stressful on the neck and spine and means many of us need surgery to correct the postural problems (picture posed by model)Breathing out, slowly bring your head down to your chest and hold the stretch for ten seconds before tipping your head slowly back again.Repeat the massage until you feel the muscles loosen and your shoulders drop. Do this whenever you feel tension.STOP CROSSING YOUR LEGSNHS physiotherapist Nick Sinfield says: ‘Crossing your legs when you’re sitting down may feel instinctive, but it puts significant pressure on your lower back.‘Your hip tucks inwards, making it difficult to sit up straight — which, in turn, makes you slouch.‘Over time, you may develop muscle imbalances, which can cause stiffness in the hips and lower back. NHS physiotherapist Nick Sinfield says crossing you legs can put significant pressure on your lower back (picture posed by model) ‘To sit correctly, gently lengthen your neck upwards and tuck in your chin. Pull in your lower tummy muscles to maintain a natural curve in your lower back.‘Bring your shoulder blades back towards your spine. Make sure your lower back is comfortably supported by your chair.‘If you’re sitting at a computer, your eyes should be in line with the top of your screen, and your forearms should be horizontal.’BUY A NEW BRA‘Women with larger breasts almost always suffer from round shoulders, neck and back pain because of the extra weight they have to carry on their chests,’ says osteopath Tim Allardyce.A poorly fitting bra will only make things worse — pulling on the shoulders to cause neck pain – http://genius-pharmacy.com and migraines and even pressing on internal organs, which can lead to indigestion and heartburn.To check if your bra is fit for purpose, slip the straps off your shoulders. The bra should stay in place. If it slips down, try going down a band size and up a cup size and see if that is a better fit.