Joanna Farmer’s new book helps us Stand Tall and Move Easy

The book presents posture as a fundamental skill, a basic fitness component, and a foundation for exercise, sport performance, and efficient movement in daily living. Although written for college students, it is a do-it-yourself approach for anyone wanting to stand taller and move better.

The basic premise of Stand Tall and Move Easy is that most people—even athletes —have some postural challenge, and that with knowledge, self-awareness, and an active lifestyle, they can overcome such challenges. Your body can feel good and move well at any age.

The book is divided into three parts: Posture Theory, Posture Assessment and Analysis, and Planning and Carrying Out a Posture Program. Additional documents freely available from the CCDMD online catalogue include an exercise planning chart and lifestyle monitor chart, as well as a Teaching Guide, which contains the following headings: Course Design, Answers to Quizzes and Activities, and Notes on Activities.

As a dancer and physical education teacher, Joanna has had a lifelong interest in posture. For her master’s thesis at McGill University, she investigated the movement of rising onto pointe in ballet. At Dawson, she developed a specialized posture course for nursing students to reduce their risk of back pain. She also designed a new measurement tool to assess posture, and in 2019, published a study on college student posture, establishing rates of alignment deficits and relationships between posture and fitness.

More information: https://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/eng/catalog/stand-tall-and-move-easy