Good Posture and Power Posing

I talk a lot about posture in my classes. I comment on how certain exercises develop the muscles needed to make good posture possible.  I point out stretches you can do on your own to counteract the sitting and forward bending we do in our daily lives that pull us out of alignment. 

But why do we care about posture anyway?  One good reason is that we look taller and slimmer when we have good posture, and who doesn’t want that?!  But there are even better reasons to practice good posture. 

Slouching can affect both the lungs and the digestive system.  Take the pressure off of your internal organs by keeping your chest lifted. Compare taking a deep breath when you are hunched over versus standing tall.  Big difference, right?  To check and see if you are rounding forward imagine that someone is pulling you up by your ponytail. Doesn’t that feel better? (You can put that on a sticky note on your computer as a reminder!)  The goal, however, is to strengthen the right muscles so you naturally stand up straight without having to think about it all the time.  My Saturday Morning Pilates class can help with that – wink, wink!

Now think about the weight of your head.  The average person’s head weighs 10 or 11 pounds.  If you are always looking down (perhaps at your smart phone) or have the common postural habit of holding your head slightly forward (maybe you are straining forward to see the computer screen) you are putting a lot of stress on your neck.  This can cause tension headaches as well as back, neck and shoulder pain.  It can lead to problems with your jaw such as TMJ.  

Another great reason to practice good posture is how it makes you feel.  My favorite Ted Talk of all time is Amy Cuddy’s “Your body language may shape who you are.”  She explains her research into the relationship between how we position our bodies and how we feel.  Maybe we stand taller when we are feeling confident but it turns out standing taller, or in a Power Pose, can make us feel more confident.  Chicken or the egg, right?  It turns out if you are feeling anxious, a few minutes of standing in a Power Pose such as the Victory Pose (arms stretched toward the sky in a V shape as if you just won the 100 meter dash) can impact your mood and lead you to feel more confident.  In addition, you are perceived as confident by those around you.  Our bodies do speak and it turns out what they say can impact you and the way others perceive you. 

So keep up your Pilates, it will benefit you inside and out, in more ways than one!