Posture, Get It Straight! Look Ten Years Younger, Ten Pounds Thinner and Feel Better Than Ever [Paperback]

Janice Novak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2006

It's true - improving your posture can make important differences in the way you look and feel. Like many people, though, you may think that your posture is hopeless, especially after years of slouching, slumping, or working in positions that have strained your muscles and stressed your body This fully illustrated guide shows you how to beat bad posture habits and demonstrates easy strengthening exercises that start working right away. Make yourself a promise to learn these simple techniques - and enjoy the rewards of better posture today!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The results have far exceeded anything I could have imagined". --venatrix1, Amazon.com. 1/21/02

"The One Minute To Better Posture technique will transform your life instantly." --Joseph Dewey, Amazon.com, 5/22/05

"The results were immediate. Pain reduced about 80-90% and I look taller and slimmer as promised." --Amorteur, Amazon.com, 12/18/05

About the Author

Janice Novak developed her unique posture program over fifteen years of working with individual clients and teachning thousands of workshops for hospitals, universities and community education programs. She holds a master's degree in health and physical education, and regularly does health segments for television, including a guest author appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Janice has also produced a companion DVD.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Expert Publishing (August 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931945624
• ISBN-13: 978-1931945622
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical advice, easy to put in practice, September 19, 2006

By 

Terrie Hall-Thimsen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Posture, Get It Straight! Look Ten Years Younger, Ten Pounds Thinner and Feel Better Than Ever (Paperback)

I like doing things the easy way with the least amount of work and that's why I found "Posture, Get It Straight" to be invaluable. The drawings help me understand what I'm supposed to be doing and the author is very complete with explanations and instructions.

Because I sit at a computer for most of my workday, I tend to become round in the shoulders and both my neck and mid back get very sore. There is a chapter called "The ABCs of computer comfort" that explains how to set up your mouse, monitor, keyboard and chair so that you put the least amount of stress on your various body parts. One thing the author mentions that never occurred to me is to tilt the monitor so it can be viewed with bifocals. I've been perching my glasses on the end of my nose and bending my neck to get just the right view. No more!

There are lots of exercise and stretches to do to build muscles in various areas and they actually feel good to do. The exercises can easily be done around the house using walls and chairs as props but some require the use of a resistance band. I particularly like the door frame stretch for shoulders and chest and the foot exercises to help strengthen arches that get beat up from wearing high heels.

Other chapters in "Posture, Get it Straight" cover how to sit on a plane or in an automobile, how to choose a pillow and how to sit while doing crafts. Whether your concern is posture while pregnant or how to avoid osteoporosis, you will find some practical suggestions.

The subtitle of the book is, "look ten year younger, ten pounds thinner, & feel better than ever!" I think it must be true because since I've been practicing better posture, people have asked me if I've lost weight.

I'd recommend this book to anyone of any age. It will help you understand how your body works and how you can use your body more efficiently by keeping it aligned.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Order the book, AND the DVD., August 16, 2007

By 

HS (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Posture, Get It Straight! Look Ten Years Younger, Ten Pounds Thinner and Feel Better Than Ever (Paperback)

I was considering buying the "Posture Alignment" book by Paul D'Arezzo, but decided to buy "Posture, Get It Straight..." by Janice Novak along with the DVD. And boy, am I ever satisfied with both items. I find the book to be very easy to read, with basic, but invaluable information. The exercises/stretches are simple to do, but you'll feel completely refreshed/satisfied/better after doing them.

I particularly loved the section on food intake and the specific amount of calcium/potassium/magnesium/vitamins and other minerals and supplements that your body require on a daily basis, in order to have not just healthy bones, but an overall healthy body.

Not to say the exercise instructions on the book is difficult to follow, but if you're the type of person that benefit greatly from visual examples, then the DVD is the perfect accompaniment to the book. It takes a lot of the exercises (not all) directly from the book and put it into visual form for you to understand. For some reason, the reviewers for the DVD version neglect to mention this fact, but there's a resistance band that's included with the DVD. You'll find the book has a lot of exercises that required the use of a resistance band. However, if you get the DVD, you'll have all the necessary tools to get started toward a healthy body.

I absolutely recommend the book and the DVD, 5 Stars, anything less is an insult to Janice Novak's 20+ years of experience and her programs.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this!, October 4, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Posture, Get It Straight! Look Ten Years Younger, Ten Pounds Thinner and Feel Better Than Ever (Paperback)

Posture, Get it Straight! discusses the widely overlooked secret to long term health care--our posture and how it affects our body, attitudes and outlook on life. More often than not we are reminded that exercise is needed to keep off weight while posture is not discussed. The good news is that regardless of the condition your posture is in, Janice Novak suggests it can immediately be corrected and improve your well being by simply adjusting sitting or standing positions.

Using her suggested stretching exercises to help limber up muscles, trains them for straight posture. My favorite sitting exercise is the trapezoid stretch, which I use when I find myself hanging my head forward while working on the computer. I was amazed to learn that sleeping with a pillow between the knees not only protects the lower back alignment and prevents the weight of the thigh from pulling on the hip socket; it also protects the posture.

After several weeks of using the suggested stretches the author offers, I discovered that good posture affects every area of our lives whether it is recreational or work related.

This book is an excellent reminder that good health begins with posture and that it does play a significant role in our personal long-term care. Who knew that something so simple that harkens back to my mother telling me to straighten my shoulders would be something I still need to be reminded of!

Armchair Interviews says: With so many of us getting computer-itist, this is a great book to put us back in order.