Happy is the real pretty. So we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the face. But I’d like to take a moment to talk to you about the importance of the position of your head over the rest of your body.

I could go on and on about this subject, but I’m just going to make some very short, sweet points. This is happening to everybody. If you have a computer, if you cook, even if you just open up a package and put it in the microwave, you’re still looking down.

You’re looking down when you type. You’re looking down when you drive your car. You’re looking down when you cook. So these are everyday activities. So what happens in the course of our life? Our head starts to go forward and down.

Most people end up with what we call a turkey neck or the jiggly skin down here. Well, guess what? All the plastic surgery in the world cannot change the musculature underneath. So even if the skin is pulled back, if your head is still forward like this, it gives us a dead giveaway that you’ve been in this body for a long time.

In other words, aging in a nutshell is very visible from forward head posture. Unfortunately, I’m seeing a pattern even in young people, 20 years old, that have forward head posture. You know why? Because they’ve had an iPhone since middle school.

Texting looks familiar, right? Everybody’s doing it, including me. So what can we do about it? I call this what chickens do. I know it’s silly. So do that and then go back and get stuck there. And you’re going to feel a tone in these muscles.

Most likely, you hold your tension and stress in the back of your neck and shoulders. I’ve been doing this for a long time and everyone I meet says, I think I hold my tension, right? Well, guess what?

You do, I do, we all do. It’s part of being human. We’ve got a 10 pound bowling ball on top of our body. that’s forward all the time. So it makes perfect sense that this is going to get sore and grumpy, and this is going to get mushy and flabby.

So how can we change that? Start paying attention and bringing your head back. There are also exercises you can do where you move back like this, squeeze your shoulder blades back. I would also suggest stretching the sides of your neck.

If you really take the time to look at your body, maybe when you have no shirt on if you’re a man or wearing a bra as a lady, you’ll see that there’s a lot of triangles here. This is a triangle. This is a triangle.

This is a triangle. So I call this opening up the triangles. Open up that. Open up those. And just get to know your neck. Get your hands involved. Turn your head as far as you can. And I won’t demonstrate this one because I don’t have a wall handy, but standing with your back up against a wall, your heels, your butt, your shoulder blades, and your head, All at the same time, for two or three minutes, will help reset your best alignment.

So that when you’re standing, your ear is over your shoulder, your shoulder’s over your hip, and your hip is over your heel. So take some time to get to know your own alignment. And remember, when in doubt, pull your head back a little bit.

Bring your shoulders back and create that long, happy neck. Make your throat visible in the mirror. Wrinkles are going to happen, but that’s on the outside layer. Rebuilding that musculature is something that you can always do.

You’re never too old to improve the health and alignment of your neck and shoulders, and improve your overall appearance. Not to mention, it feels so much better when the front of your neck is nice and toned, and the back of your neck is more relaxed.