I just had a session with Dr. Hirai, an acupuncturist, a chiro, and a total bodyworker who is also a master of an ancient Japanese martial art. He is the one who introduced me to Nordic walking and told me about the posture. He comes to our house all the way from Fukuoka once every two months to give sessions to people in Hino.
He is tieing my legs to put them in the right angles and positions. He believes that our posture determines everything. Angles and positions of our shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, legs, knees, ankles, feet, and toes all determine how we stand and walk or how we sit or sleep. Because we do all these movements all day long, they create tensions in certain parts of our body and eventually, they lead us to illnesses.
So by adjusting the angles and positions of body parts, we will have a better posture when we sit, stand, walk, and sleep. Ancient Japanese people knew it and we used to have a lifestyle to support our posture, but it is all lost now. Dr. Hirai is one of the few people who know this secret of ancient Japanese martial arts.