Posture is essential. This doesn’t refer to just when executing technique, but throughout the day in all you do. Posture is the proper positioning of the head, shoulders and hips so that they are balanced. You can think of 3 basketballs stacked on top of each other.
In the beginning of sil lim tao you draw back your fits to your chest and then tuck your hips as you sink into your stance, but instead of sinking into your stance, you just tuck your hip.. This alignment is the everyday posture you want to maintain in a relaxed state. Head up, shoulders back, hips tucked.
Maintain this position when walking. You should be relaxed and have a calm quiet and pleasant energy around you. You do not want to walk around tense with negative energy.
This everyday posture is the same posture used when executing techniques. The body is back and not leaning forward creating distance between you and your opponent. This posture also increases your speed for both footwork and overall technique. So as you practice posture for the everyday posture you also practice posture for techniques since the head, shoulder, and hip positions are the same.
When transitioning from everyday stance into a ready stance, you sink into your stance and apply a slight dynamic tension though out the body. The arms come up into a ready stand with the same forward moving dynamic tension. This is not to say that you are stiff. The stance is dynamic and involves both tense and relaxed states for both speed and effectiveness of technique and movement.