You'll be pleased to know that the answer to good posture isn't just about standing up ramrod straight.

Standing too straight is just as bad as slouching, says Brita Forsstrom, an expert in the Alexander Technique

Here are some simple ideas to incorporate in your every day life:

* make it easy
* start at the beginning
* mix it up
* keep your feet on the ground
* take your eyes off it

This week it's not even a stretch. You've got it easy, it's an active rest. A contradiction in terms I hear you say - well, give it a try, your back will want to kiss you for it.

Undo a day's tension by spending 20 minutes every day in the 'active resting' position. Lie on your back on a carpeted floor, with your feet on the floor and knees bent pointing upwards towards the ceiling, to free up your lower back. Support your head on some books, so that your head isn't tilted back, but not so much that your chin is at your chest. This position will help release tension, particularly in the spine, and give immediate benefit.

Another option is to lie with your legs on a chair [as above]. However, unlike the picture, make sure you have a book or folded towel under your head.

These stretches are ideal to do when you get home from work, before you start to do all those evening chores.

I went to visit the new JJB Fitness Club which has just opened in Dunstable.  It looks fantastic and is very well designed.  The finish is top quality and the array of equipment is mind blowing.

The popularity of tennis is at an all time high and with the english summer comes tennis mania.  The French Open has just finished, the Stella Artois tournament is wrapping up today and then there's Wimbledon to look forward to.

This week I'm focussing on a rather beleagured, overworked muscle which affects the entire spine, the base of the neck and the buttocks.  It's an area which is tight and overworked in many of my clients.  Especially people who spend a lot of time writing or sitting at a computer.