Alignment screening apps are tools that help you better understand where you are in space. Knowing the objective alignment markers can be helpful, but you don’t want to use force to achieve alignment. Be gentle with yourself, do your restorative exercises, and gradually make transitions in your movement to give your tissues time to adapt. The alignment screening you see below is just an awareness tool. That’s all. It’s not about being in “perfect” alignment; it’s about understanding where you’re at in the moment and how your habits became your posture. With that information, you can then start moving into new expansive ways. 
No wonder I get headaches stemming from my suboccipital area.
“Watch your habits, as they become your posture.
Watch your posture, for it creates your boundaries.
Watch your boundaries, for they restrict your growth.
Watch your restrictions, for they create immobility.
Watch your immobility, for it becomes your illness.”- Katy Bowman, biomechanist.
No, Crooked Head Syndrome is not hereditary. Although you may have learned postural habits by observing and mimicking a parent.
I probably learned the habit of sitting like this (see below) from my mom. I remember her sitting with her legs curled up to one side all the time. It’s fine to sit like this from time to time, but it’s the high frequency of any one position that creates the problem.
Sitting on a couch for demonstration purposes only. Do NOT try this at home!
If you jack one hip up, it’s only natural that the head will adapt to the asymmetry by tilting to the side. This puts significant tension on the suboccipital muscles and compresses the occipitoatlantal joint (O-A joint) on one side. The O-A joint is the joint between the atlas (C1) and the occiput (lower part of the back of the skull). Over time, this sustained tension will irritate the occipital nerve, causing pain to radiate from the back of the head to the eye region. It will also limit your range of motion, looking left and right.
Crooked Head Syndrome may result from the habit of cocking the head to one side, or from compensating for an asymmetry in the lower body.
The habit of always sitting on one sit bone (or foot) more than the other.
Trying to look cool.
Holding a baby (or a Japanese meditation cushion) on one hip.
Pay attention to your habits and mix things up. Sit on a different side of the couch, or in a different kitchen chair. I tend to sit in the same kitchen chair and angle myself in a certain way in the room, always lifting my left foot onto the chair. When I mixed things up by sitting in a different chair facing the other direction, my habits changed! Stop putting yourself in the same box.
Not sure if your alignment is causing your pain, headaches, tension, pelvic floor dysfunction, or inflamed joints? Get an Alignment Screening and/or ask a Restorative Exercise Specialist to check you out. A Nutritious Movement™ certified Restorative Exercise Specialist is trained to see when you are faking “good posture” and will help you move better.
You may also like: Simple Steps to Release Shoulder and Neck Tension
Author: Barbara Horsley has more than 26 years of experience as a licensed massage therapist. She specializes in abdominal massage and Visceral Manipulation™ and is an NCBTMB-approved educator. In addition to being certified in abdominal massage, she also studied biomechanics and restorative exercise. She is also a Certified Women’s Herbal Educator and a graduate of the IWHI Perimenopause & Menopause Certificate Program.