An osteopath has shared a simple trick he claims will improve posture and boost energy in seconds – and it doesn’t cost a cent.
Brendon Talbot, a Canadian health practitioner who specializes in bone and muscle tissue, says performing a ‘trapezius twist’ each time you stand up from sitting down can transform your health by repairing the vagus nerve.
According to Mr Talbot, the move – which involves crossing your arms in front of your body and moving them from side-to-side, then over your head – changes muscle tone and opens the chest, leading to an instant change in breathing and posture.
In a now-viral TikTok video, the osteopath also warned about the dangers of ‘forward head’ posture, which is when a person’s head naturally leans forward, putting pressure on the neck and restricting blood flow to the brain. The risky posture is often aggravated by the use of devices like computers and smartphones.
Mr Talbot explained that restricted blood flow caused by this position can result in a myriad of serious health issues, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and chronic fatigue.
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Canadian osteopath Brendon Talbot (pictured) has shared a simple trick he claims will improve posture and boost energy in a matter of seconds – and it doesn’t cost a cent
Mr Talbot (pictured) says the move – which involves crossing your arms and moving them from side-to-side, then over your head – triggers an instantaneous change in breathing and posture
Mr Talbot then demonstrated the very simple move – called the trapezius twist – which he says will help to counteract any health issues triggered by ‘forward head’ posture.
Explaining that you should execute the move ‘every time you get up from sitting’, he crossed his arms over the front of his body, holding on to his forearms with the opposite hands.
The medical expert then begins moving his arms from side to side across his chest before slowly moving them in an upwards motion towards the top of his head, continuing to move them from one side to the other.
He said that the trapezius twist ‘changes muscle tone through the traps [trapezius muscle] while opening up the chest’ which will ‘lead to an immediate change in posture and improve breathing mechanics’.
The trapezius muscle begins at the base of the neck, goes across the shoulders and extends down to the middle of the back, and it helps to control the movement of your arms, head, shoulders, and torso while also stabilizing the spine and helping with posture.
Mr Talbot said the twisting move will ‘also change the tension through the carotid sinus, which is innervated by the vagus nerve’ – the longest and most complex of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves in the brain.
Mr Talbot (pictured) warns that ‘forward head’ posture can restrict blood flow to the brain, which results in a myriad of serious health issues such as anxiety, depression and insomnia
The vagus nerve plays an integral part in the body’s most important functions, including breathing, speech, digestion, and taste – and Mr Talbot says that changing the tone of the nerve will ‘induce a relaxation response’, helping to improve your posture.
Mr Talbot’s tip, which has gone viral, racking up a staggering 7.1 million views since it was uploaded online on July 10, sparked thousands of grateful responses.
‘I needed this today, thank you for sharing,’ one person wrote.
‘I don’t know if this actually works, but it feels good!’ added a second, while others confirmed the exercise triggers immediate relief.
‘I suffer from tense neck muscles when I am stressed. I just tried this and it works – I instantly felt the difference,’ one woman said.
A doctor replied saying it is ‘well worth’ spending 10 minutes a day twisting your chest as Mr Talbot had shown,
In the comments section of the video, the osteopath clarified that the twist will not fix ‘forward head’ posture, but can help to relieve tension and raise the ribs, making it easier to breathe.