Good posture requires that you hold your tummy in, pull your shoulders back, lengthen the back of your neck and stand or sit as tall as possible…that’s right isn’t it? Let’s try it out now:
- Tummy in, right in
- Roll your shoulder blades back and down
- Lengthen the back of your neck like there is a hook pulling you up to the sky
- Remember your tummy is pulled in and stand or sit really tall.
Now, can you actually move? Can you breath? No, because you are officially a robot – a tense robot.
I talked about the problems with exercise cues in a video last year – here is a link to that video. Cueing tips come into Pilates, yoga, dance, gym training and in this case postural advice. When you question these, you will soon notice they lack any truth. They were just someones idea and the idea stuck.
I would go as far to say that holding of any sort is unnecessary, inefficient, tiring and can lead to wear and tear. It’s just not appropraite for a body that wants to enjoy natural movement.
This good news is that you can enjoy a great and effortless posture without any cues/tension/holding. There is one simple concept that eliminates the need of all those above points. This weeks video is a variation of a standing exercise that I learned on the Aston Toning course. I demonstrate how to push the ground away to give your body postural tone and length. All you need is a broom handle (even the back of a chair will do)!
The better you become at pushing the ground away during all of your exercises and generally around your house, the more efficient, toned, yet relaxed your body will become.
It’s time to let go of holding…and start enjoying your body!
Take care
Danny
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