If you think of posture as a position, you will hold it. Probably way too tightly and tensely. Like the 2nd picture of the woman. Nice and upright maybe. But wow, that looks like hard work.
But if you think of posture as constant feedback loop from your body to your brain, you can let go of that need to hold on.
And that’s what posture really is: the ability of your brain to constantly manage your balance, and using your proprioception to keep you in a position. You can override this process by holding a position with extra muscle tone. Which is what most of us do routinely. But that a lot of effort we don’t have to make!
Easy posture is a dynamic process, so you won’t actually be completely still if you let your brain get on with it.
You will have constant micromovement.
This is best experienced: let’s give it a try.
A great way of starting off with your skill of lightly holding (not holding) a posture is lying down with a quiet few minutes to think about your body.
We call this Active or Constructive Rest. It’s still a posture to practice with, just without the challenge of staying upright! Start there and then transfer to your everyday postures. Want to give it a try?