Are you smart enough to grab the attention of the people around you?

In every gathering there are women and men who are centre of attention since they display a smart personality – well-dressed, upright-posture, strong and active.

As a species we often take a shorthand approach to processing information. Determining whether another person is attractive relies upon highly-developed visual-perception circuits. These circuits rapidly process a number of clues about a potential mate’s status. They run through a rapid-fire series of questions and answers. Young? Strong? Fertile? Likely to win a knife fight?

We emphasize, augment, or sometimes downright lie about the qualities that other people may find attractive in us. And while we are going to talk about health, it’s not going to be as it directly pertains to muscle mass or body fat. We’re going to talk about an effect that will become even more pronounced as you age.

Posture
You thought that this topic was going to be sexier, right? Well, it’s going to make you sexier so stick around.
Do you want your post-retirement nickname to be The Silver Fox instead of Old Droopy?

Posture is a significant indicator of youth, vitality and mental state. And all of those things feed into the subconscious list of attractive qualities that others seek. According to Professor Geoffrey Miller, author of The Mating Mind and Spent, good posture can increase apparent health and fitness in several ways:
1. Tall height, which is especially attractive in males
2. Active youthfulness, as people tend to slump with age
3. Improved energy level, as tired people slump
4. Active mental health, as depressed people slump

Studies have also shown improved posture to have an immediate effect on confidence.

Traditionally, horrible posture has not been a factor for most people until they’re in their autumn years. That is no longer the case. Posture is getting worse (and this issue is becoming amplified by age).

Our posture is collectively going to shit. The movement quality we see in people walking in off the street now is significantly worse than it was 10 years ago. If you want a quick idea of what posture looks like, sit yourself down in a café with a lot of pedestrian traffic outside. Use anterior head carriage as your go-to criterion (the middle of the ear should, in theory, be in-line with the middle of the shoulder).

Narrow your gaze to everyone over the age of 50. You will witness the people who have likely been stuck behind desks since childhood. The result is that they show their age through the degenerative changes to their spines. This is a fair baseline for compromised posture. It’s not inevitable, but it’s very likely for sedentary people.

The real problem is that after most people finish at the office, they get up, walk over to the next computer and sit down again. They no longer head off to chop wood, repair boats, or build houses. Instead, they rush home to hit Facebook, hit the Xbox or watch videos of guys getting kicked in the nuts.

Lifestyle isn’t the only factor here. We know that the amount of time schoolchildren spend in front of computers has been on the rise ever since scientists figured out how to squeeze a computer onto a desktop.

The human body wasn’t designed to be stuck in any one position for very long. When it is stuck in a position for a long time, a number of adaptive changes take place that result in impaired posture.

Tips for looking and performing better by improving your posture:

Chest Up, Ribs Forward: “Chest up!” is a very common weightroom cue designed to get you to stop rounding your lower back. It might be more accurate to say “ribs forward.” If we follow the natural curve of the lumber spine, we can help preserve or restore it by trying to drive your lats forward through the ribs. You’ll do just this to build proper lumbar spine alignment on top of your neutral pelvis.

Shoulders Back: Squeeze your shoulder blades together for a moment before letting them settle. Having your chest up (from the previous step) makes it easier to keep the shoulders from falling forward.

Neck Packed: People often make the mistake of tilting the head too far forward or too far backward. Instead, elevate the crown of your head as high as possible without decapitating yourself.

Breathe: Do you: Breathe? Or breathe well?
‘Breathing well’ means using the diaphragm. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you the same thing. However, there’s telling and then there’s doing. Doing (on the regular) will make it dramatically easier to maintain good posture.

Get Ready for Action:Your default sitting position should resemble a (good) front squat. To achieve this position, lower yourself into a squat until you’re lightly touching the chair). Your weight should be toward your heels and you should feel no stress on your knees. From here, slowly sink your weight onto the chair until your muscles are only slightly engaged. Work on keeping the ribcage pushed forward. You’ll notice that your core is engaged, your neck is packed, and that you’ll feel ready to stand.

It’s hard to get lazy about core activation when you’re ready for action. That’s good. Just remember not to let your lower-back round.

Now Go Get Some Action: Regardless of what you do when you’re not working, make sure that you stand up, reach for the sky or simply walk around every 10-20 minutes. This will help you overcome some of the adaptations that your body makes to sitting. It will help you move better, feel better and look better. These are all essential traits for anyone who wants to let the world know that their genes are worth chasing.

Adopted from an article, courtesy: http://www.t-nation.com