Pilates is incredibly good to help improve your posture and alignment. Some activities in daily life can begin to alter your alignment in a negative way, but with a bit of body awareness, core strength and joint stability, not to mention some mobility, flexibility and deep breathing work, we can take back control of our own bodies and stand tall. Here are my top tips for a better posture:
- Spread your toes and weight yourself evenly through both feet wherever possible.
- Rock through your pelvis to find your neutral- think soup bowl- too much lower back arch and you’ll spill your soup out the front, too much flat back and you’ll spill your soup out the back- keep your soup level and in your bowl !
- Ribs over hips…. be aware of where your ribs are and try to correct any rib flare by gently drawing ribs down and in (think about engaging your deeper core muscles – transverse abdominal corset – to help with this). Align your rib cage directly on top of your pelvis.
- Stand up tall – try to avoid a slouch or compression of your torso – remember, it’s where all of your organs live and a longer torso will also help you breathe better!
- Head placement- in a world where we spend a LOT of time texting on mobile phones or working on laptops, not to mention driving, reading, gardening etc etc etc… our heads have a tendency to creep/fall forwards. Let’s correct this to take pressure off the neck, shoulders and back by tucking those chins in and lengthening up through the back of the neck and crown of the head.
Just Check in with your posture at different points in the day and see how your body is holding tension, aligning and most importantly – FEELING!
