On a recent shopping trip to Nashville, Memphis neurologist Dr. Moacir Schnapp passed by a Banana Republic store in the mall and saw a familiar sight: his wife, Elma, teaching posture exercises.

"I walked by, and I saw someone I know teaching the ladies in the store about posture," Moacir said.

Dr. Elma Schnapp is a petite woman who never seems to stop moving, or laughing, for that matter. A physician trained in her native Brazil and a former dancer, Elma is passionate about posture. So passionate, in fact, that almost everywhere she goes, she can be found demonstrating exercises to captive audiences.

Posture improvements

Elma has teamed with her husband to channel her passion into a book, "Young, Sexy and Healthy: The Ten Best Exercises for Your Posture." The book was published earlier this month and combines Elma's experience in physical rehabilitation with Moacir's knowledge of pain management. Moacir's contributions stem from his roughly 30 years of experience in treating people who suffer from chronic pain.

Throughout the pages of the book, Elma demonstrates exercises she said contribute to better posture, while explaining the benefits. For health purposes, having correct posture can aid in digestion and prevent back and neck pain - particularly the type of pain associated with sitting at a desk, playing video games or working on a computer.

Exercises in the book include lunges and abdominal and back-strengthening exercises. The movements, Elma said, are an essential part of building a strong core that allows one to maintain good posture all the time. Without a strong back, for example, a person will begin to slouch even though they may try to hold their back up straight, Elma said.

The benefits aren't limited to any particular segment of the population - they can be applied to everyone, Elma said. For people in the business community, for example, Elma said having good posture can help people to project a more confident image.

Injury leads to new profession

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Elma first discovered the importance posture plays in health and wellness as a dancer in her early 20s. She started dancing at the age of 5, and eventually danced professionally in Brazil. It was during a rehearsal at the age of 22 that she injured her knee, requiring surgery.

"After I had surgery on my knee, I went to rehab," Elma said. "When I was exposed to rehabilitation, I decided to go to medical school."

Elma and Moacir met while the two were taking a year-long preparatory course for medical school. After dating for 10 years while they both studied at The University of São Paulo, they were married.

They moved to Memphis in 1979 because Moacir was drawn to the pain management program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), which he described as one of the best in the country. Moacir met Dr. Kit Mays while studying at UTHSC, and soon the two started the Mays and Schnapp Pain Clinic and Rehabilitation Center on the campus of Baptist Memorial Hospital in East Memphis.

Women in need

The Schnapps also have started a Web site, iposture.com, which features exercises, tips and other information about getting and maintaining a healthy posture. The couple decided to write the book after seeing so many women - both young and old - with poor posture.

Young women today are not taught the importance of a healthy posture, unlike their mothers' generation, who valued it immensely, Elma said.

"Women today spend so much time in their cars, on the computer and carrying their kids around, unfortunately," she said.

All of that puts stress on the back, and ultimately contributes to bad posture that leads to pain, Elma said.

Elma grew up idolizing Brazilian models rather than sports figures and celebrities. She even grew up with Helô Pinheiro - the inspiration for the 1960s hit "The Girl from Impanema." She said as a result of all the influences in her culture, she began to notice the importance of posture.

"I knew good posture made you feel good, and that it was important for everything," she said.