How to maintain a proud and firm bust

Breasts for many are a social issue, yet every woman wants to have nicely shaped breasts throughout her life. Sadly, this is not possible in most cases due to genetic inheritance, lifestyle adaptations and the fact that breast sagging is a natural process that happens with age whereby the tissues supporting the breasts lose some of their suppleness and elasticity.

Breasts usually begin to sag after a woman reaches 40 though it can occur earlier. Apart from age, other factors that cause sagging breasts include overall health, fitness, posture, pregnancy and breastfeeding, menopause, rapid weight loss or gain, strenuous exercise, nutritional deficiencies and the brassier.

Some diseases like breast cancer or respiratory conditions like tuberculosis can also cause breasts to sag. Also, excessive consumption of nicotine, alcohol and carbonated beverages can contribute to the problem.

Breasts do not have muscle. They are made of fat, connective tissues and milk-producing glands, and they need proper care to keep them in good shape. The basis for healthy breasts and healthy body is a healthy diet while avoiding the use of toxic body care products, sweet and processed foods.

A wide variety of creams and lotions are available on the market to tighten and tone up sagging breasts. However, if you prefer natural methods, there are many simple and easy home remedies that you can try.

Remedies to prevent and restore saggy breasts

1. Posture
   Standing tall with your shoulders back is the most immediate and practical step you can take to reduce breast sag. When you slouch, your shoulders drop forwards and cause the breasts to sit lower on the chest than they are designed to - so simply standing up straight with your shoulders back is an instant fix for a great many women.
    
2. Exercise
   Before beginning your exercise, remove your bra or if you are exercising in a public place and you must wear a bra, wear a less supportive comfort bra so that as you move your body, any pressure from the bra will not affect your breasts. Any exercise you do has two functions, firstly to help you stand tall with your shoulders back and secondly to exercise all the muscles in the chest wall, back and shoulders that help to support your breasts.
   
   Yoga asana is one of the best self-care exercise systems because it works the entire body. You must remember that your breasts do not exist in isolation to the rest of your body, the body is designed as a harmonious whole and when one part is weakened, that weakness can spread. Well some exercises like shoulder roles, face upward dog pose and back bends do help, a full body workout two or three times a week is ideal. On other days, specific exercises to open and lift the chest can be done for a couple of minutes every day.
    
3. Massage is one of the best self-care methods you can use. By massaging your own breasts every other day in combination with exercise you can dramatically affect both the size and shape of your breasts. There are a great many different ideas floating around about how to massage your breasts, some of them are good and some are plain stupid. A good breast massage involves using hands and fingers to gently feel into the breast tissues and use a combination of rubbing and squeezing strokes to treat the entire breasts including through the armpits.
    
4. Massage can be done with any natural oil or cream, however for best results, regular massage using a product like natural firming/ enhancement creams increases the effectiveness of massage and breast health. You can massage your breasts in the shower using a little soap to help your fingers slide easily. But if you're careful you don't need to use any soap, oils or creams although they do facilitate the practice. The general rule with massage oils are that if you can't eat them, you shouldn't be putting them on your skin. But any natural vegetable oil is fine and creams like shea butter work well.

All these common sense ideas could help to improve not only the shape of your breasts but the shape of your life. There is no guarantee that these ideas will work for you as unfortunately some woman have naturally floppy breasts and others simply don't have the tenacity to follow the program. If you have any problems or concerns, please seek professional advice.