A Tale of the Power of Posture
In a previous article, I wrote about how yoga posture is impacting many aspects of my daily life. Here is a deeper dive into one aspect of posture that I never gave much thought about until it happened spontaneously, with some surprising benefits.
My story started a couple of weekends ago. I had to drive into New York City and spend the night there. It is about a 2½ hour drive, mostly on the Long Island Expressway, which is a busy and hectic stretch of road under any circumstance, even on a weekend. It was pouring rain when I left, so I remember thinking that I needed to take extra care to drive safely. Something inside me heard those thoughts and surprised me with what turned out to be a much more comfortable, and much safer, way to drive. I say this as someone who is proud of the way he drives, with an unblemished driving record on four continents for almost 60 years. The sole exception was an accident I had when I was 17, and, thankfully, no one was injured.
As I started the long drive, with my hands at the 10:00 and 2:00 position (the way I normally held the wheel), I became aware that my shoulders and arms were not in the kind of posture I am becoming familiar with in my training to be a yoga instructor. My shoulders were slightly hunched up, and I was resting back into the seat with a slouched back. I decided to try sitting and holding my arms in the same “yoga way” I am now more comfortable with. This meant sitting upright and not resting against the back of the seat at all. In addition, I lowered my arms, shoulders, and hands and pulled my elbows back and down slightly, so my hands were in the 9:00 and 3:00 position, and my shoulders were down and slightly back. This lifted my chest and allowed my shoulder blades to sit further into my back. While this may sound awkward, I have strengthened my core and torso enough to support myself this way comfortably. My posture was engaged but not strained. The instant effect was to relax my neck and shoulders and bring an easy lightness into my entire upper body, despite the slight amount of effort needed to sustain sitting this way.
As I am learning, the practice of yoga and posture begins with the outer physical body—our muscles and joints. But, ultimately, it is about freeing your mind, and your intelligence, and providing them with extra energy, some of which is made possible by the increased blood flow of a more open body position as well as a mind that is more able to focus. The demanding physical poses in yoga train you to strengthen your focus. This is what happened in my new driving posture. I felt myself becoming more alert and paying more attention to the road, where the mind needs to be, rather than allowing my mind to wander or trying to distract myself with music, the gps, or other activities we have gotten used to fiddling with in cars. Part of me was saying, “This is where your attention needs to be right now. This is what’s important.” And I continued driving this way, staying alert and sitting in what might seem to be an awkward position if slouchy comfort is your main concern. Instead, my posture was strong and engaged, which encouraged me to be focused and alert.
The Truth About Cars
Think about this: Driving accidents injure many more people than there are heart attacks every year. Car fatalities rank 11th in overall mortalities every year and 1st for people under 30 years old! In short, cars are wonderful ways to get around, but they are also killing machines. They average well over 200 horsepower and weigh 3,000 to over 4,000 pounds. Sitting in the driver’s seat is not the same thing as lounging in a chair in your living room, kitchen, or office. Driving is not meant to be a creature comfort. With all the distractions we have built into cars these days, we have become blissfully unaware of their power and danger, and we can easily forget about the caution we need in order to drive them carefully and safely.
So, back to my drive into Manhattan. Instead of allowing myself to zone out and drive “unconsciously,” I started becoming aware of what was important. I began checking the rearview and side mirrors more than I usually do. I was diligent about signaling before changing lanes, even if I didn’t see another car nearby. And I was cautious about maintaining my speed, careful not to go too fast or too slow. When someone came too close or cut me off, I was aware of my first reaction (I wanted to curse them and call them stupid), but I was also aware of staying safe, not needing to react to their stupidity, and most of all, keeping my distance from those cars, knowing they could be potential hazards. It became a fully absorbed safety drive, supported by my new, alert, engaged posture. The trip lasted about 2½ hours and, for the most part, my attention didn’t waver.
I reproduced this same posture on the return trip, in even heavier rain and worse road conditions. Yet the same thing happened: I was more relaxed, more alert, and more aware of driving safely. This experience has stayed with me for more than two weeks. From now on, I will check my posture every time I drive, even if it’s a quick trip to the local grocery store.
I offer this subject as a tale about the power of posture, a vital part of staying healthy as we get older—it’s not just about sitting up straight or standing up straight. Posture is subtle, nuanced, and affects everything else about our body and our experience of life. As we get older, our ability to drive usually gets impaired, perhaps by vision or hearing problems, slower reaction times, or the inability to focus. In this regard, my experience was a welcome tonic in that my posture improved my safety on the road while making that long drive a conscious, fully aware experience rather than the dull, distraction-laden experience it always had been.
By shifting my driving posture, I accidentally improved another aspect of safe driving. I recently learned (from my youngest daughter who is in the process of studying for her driver test) that the 9:00 and 3:00 hand position is now considered safer than the traditional 10:00 and 2:00 position. Today’s safety experts recommend the 9:00 and 3:00 position to keep your hands out of the way of a deploying airbag. The next time you’re driving, try my posture technique, watch where you put your hands, and don’t fiddle with the gps, or anything else. One quick distraction is all it takes.
