04 Aug Why It’s Never Too Late to Work on Your Posture and How to Get Started Today!
From our pain levels to our self-confidence, our breathing and circulation, our posture impacts far more of our body (and mind) than we think.
Good posture isn’t necessarily about the way we look, however studies have shown that it can not only make us more attractive to a prospective mate, it can also help us look taller and thinner! It can also boost our confidence, increase our lung capacity and help stave off injury. So why not make fixing your frame a priority and enjoy looking, feeling and functioning better.
“Sit up straight and put your shoulders back!”
It’s an old adage that we’ve all heard at some point, whether from parents, grandparents or teachers. And an old adage it maybe but there is considerable research behind it that proves that there is good reason to stay focused on our posture long after we’ve stopped listening to our schoolteachers.
Also Read: The Perils of Poor Posture in Puberty
Hello good posture, goodbye aches and pains
While we may get distracted by the way good posture can make us look, the impacts of good posture (and bad) are far more significant on our bodies’ inner workings than we think.
Good posture not only improves the appearance, it can help stave off a lifetime of aches and pains caused by postural misalignment, many the result of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, shoulders hunched and head and neck craned intently over a screen for hours on end.
The list of injuries, niggles, aches and pains caused by poor posture is endless. Muscle spasms in the lower back, chronic neck pain, persistent headaches, poor lung capacity – all may be attributed to the way we hold our body.
Good posture, on the other hand, has the ability to prevent and or rectify almost all of the conditions listed above and has many more benefits that may not be immediately noticeable to the naked eye.
Fortunately for us good posture – like poor posture – is habit forming.
Pilates and the journey to better posture.
Also Read: How I Overcame Scoliosis Back Pain Through Pilates
So – How does your posture stack up when you look in the mirror or catch your reflection in the window as you’re walking by?
Do you see someone with rounded shoulders and hunched shoulders and neck?
Does your belly stick out at the front causing your lower back to arch in response?
Do your knees knock together when you walk?
Does your head hang forward like you’re craning to hear a question without even realising it?
If the answer to any of the above is yes – and let’s face it none of us is always perfect – then Pilates maybe the answer to your postural challenges!
Learning, following and practicing the exercises developed by Joseph Pilates will not only help flatten your tummy, make you look leaner and longer and build your lung capacity, this century-old sequence of exercises and movements will work to gently elongate the muscles by creating space between the joints that become squashed by the movements of everyday life.
While we won’t delve too deep into the detail here, what we will do is touch on some of the most helpful techniques from the Pilates system that will give you more freedom of movement, help correct the alignment of your spine, realign the shoulders, lengthen the neck and put your pelvis in a neutral supporting position.
The Posture Checklist: practice makes perfect
Also Read: Five Easy Steps To Better Posture (no more texting neck!)
Every single Pilates exercise works to correct posture, according to Flex Studio founder, Heather Thomas. However, she says it’s all about the journey not the race.
“Part of the journey to better posture begins with mental focus,” Heather says.
“It may seem silly at the beginning but start by thinking yourself taller and leaner, get in touch with how your body moves in space and learn how to better control it to improve your inner and outer health.
“It’s the key to getting the most out of your workouts and to changing your body (and mind) at the same time!”
For those of you ready to embark on the powerful path to good posture, Heather has put together a little cheat sheet to get you started.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart to balance your weight evenly between your feet, knees and hips. Keep your knees in a soft, unlocked position.
- Tigthen your abs by pulling your belly button to your spine. We all have layers of abdominal muscles; it’s the transversus abs that really pull the belly in.
- Lift your rib cage slightly. Think about lengthening your rib cage away from your pelvis, for example, to reduce the pressure on your spine and realign your head over your shoulders. This will also help shrink the waistline. The lengthening then helps in turn to correct a rounded upper back, giving your lungs more space so that you can breathe more deeply.
- Unround those hunched shoulders by gently pulling them up to your ears and rolling them back again. Then press your armpits to your hips to draw your shoulders down away from your ears and open your chest like you’re a child proudly receiving a ribbon.
- Float your head up, as if a string was attached to the top of your head pulling it from the ceiling to lengthen your spine. For those of us who were not necessarily blessed with a willowy frame, you can gain as much as an inch in height just by imagining this!
Why not start today!
Book your Classical Pilates Trial now at any of our Flex Studios in Hong Kong and Singapore!
Flex Studio Hong Kong
Central : 3F Man Cheung Building 15-17 Wyndham Street, Central
T: 2813 2399 WA +852 5740 5103
Island South : Shops 2205 & 2209 One Island South 2 Heung Yip Road, Wong Chuk Hang
T: 2813 2212 WA: +852 5740 9420
Flex Studio Singapore
Orchard : 390 Orchard Road 05-02 Palais Renaissance S 238871
WA: +65 9111 6855
