In Webster's Medical Dictionary, posture is defined as "the position or bearing of the body." Physically speaking, the ideal posture is said to be when the earlobe, acromion (tip of shoulder), hip joint, and ankle are all in line and the center of the knee is slightly forward.

I have noticed that people's posture and kinetics tells the world how they feel about themselves - their self-esteem, self-value and confidence, and how they want to be seen. Many times people will not feel very good about themselves or they are simply shy or embarrassed and take on a posture that minimizes their presence. They may curl their body inward; hunch their shoulders forward and down, bend their head down, avoid eye contact, walk behind people and position themselves out of the way. These are psychological issues that affect the physical body. The longer a person has poor posture the harder it is going to be to correct it. It's similar to having an arm in a cast for three months, the joint will become less flexible and the disused muscle will atrophy. Now picture someone who is a very confident, powerful, popular person. How do they enter a room? How do they walk down a street? Is their head held high? Is their back straight? Do they move like they belong? They can give the impression of power and self-confidence just by the way they carry themselves (even if it's not true or they themselves don't believe it).

There are many social reasons for good posture, but there are also some very important physical benefits. When a person is bent forward they are decreasing the amount of air their lungs can inhale, they may be hindering their digestion and decreasing blood supply to vital organs. The back, like any other part of the body must be exercised. If it remains excessively immobile the joints will be less free to articulate.