Proper Pilates Posture for Poised People

I believe it has become more prevalent in today's society to look down due to technology. Have you ever seen a photo of yourself hunched over, shoulder rolled forward, or even a rounded upper back/neck? Well, this is called kyphosis or round back. It is a spinal condition that involves a weakness in the spinal bones causing an outward curve more than it should be which then causes the upper back to look overly rounded. Most people know it was hunched, hunchback, or slouching. There are three different types of kyphosis that can be diagnosed, but the most common one is called postural kyphosis and it mostly happens during our teenage years. This involves slouching or poor posture in everyday life. But don’t worry, practicing Pilates will help.

Within Pilates, there are two overall main goals which include the focus on posture control and body positions. This then results in long-lasting relief from postural pains and strains. Poor posture can lead to upper, middle, and lower back pain. It can also lead to tight hamstrings, pain or stiffness in the back and shoulders, extreme fatigue, balance problems, shortness of breath or breathing troubles, and body image problems. The abdominal muscles and back stabilizer muscles, also known as the core muscles, are the necessary muscles needed to be engaged to help with better posture.

When practicing Pilates, you will gain a deeper awareness of your movement and breath while engaging your core muscles and spinal extensor muscles. This type of practice will also help you become more consciously aware of your posture and body control. For example, while in a Pilates practice may see and feel what it is like to stand with good posture, and then later you are sitting at a desk and remind yourself how it felt, so then you adjust to sitting with good posture. Leading you into a better mood because your back or neck won’t hurt later in the day. Rolling your shoulders down and back, lengthening your spine, closing your rib cage, and engaging your abdominal muscles, you should be able to withstand a good posture position, even for a little bit.

Improving your posture also means reducing your stress; physical, emotional, and mental. If the body is in balance, the brain does not need to overwork to keep the muscles in a pore position, which is why you might ache later. Balance and good posture should be easy and effortless. An off-balanced body will require the main smaller muscles to become stronger and work even harder. This good posture will also lead to good balance and easy body movement.

Overall, a rounded back has become significantly more common in the world today, but if we practice at least one posture exercise a day, we will gain posture awareness and develop the correct muscles to help us withstand the proper position. Some Pilates exercises that are helpful when reducing the severity of kyphosis include planks, swim prep/swimming, standing with your back on the wall, quadruped position with a neutral spine, plum line balance challenges, and a dead bug. These exercises work very well in moving the body efficiently with core strength in the proper posture position.

Pilates Posture Exercises:

1. Plank

Begin in a quadruped stand, also known as a four-point stance, which is your hands placed on the ground directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips
Step 1 foot straight back long behind you, then the other leg
Lift your middle abdominal core muscles to keep your legs lengthened, engaged, and chest open
Start for 15-30 sec and repeat 1 or 2 more times

2. Swim prep/Swimming

Laying on your stomach strength your arms and legs long on the floor
Lift your arms and upper body off the floor while keeping your legs and lower body on the floor, then come down
Lift your legs and lower body off the floor while keeping your arms and upper body on the floor, then come down
Now lift all limbs off the floor
Lift up the right arm, then lift up the left leg
Alternate opposite arm and leg
Swim for at least 10 seconds

3. Back on the Wall

Stand with your butt, the back of your shoulders, head on the wall, and arms long by your side
Hold and breathe here
- Additional variations:
  - Hold arms out to a T, palms away from the wall
  - Bend at elbows to make two 90° angles
  - Bring your finger-tips together overhead, leaving your hands and elbows on or close to the wall, then back to the bent position
- Repeat 5 times

4. Neutral Spine – Quadruped Position

Your hands are on the ground directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips
- Additional variations:
  - Extend 1 arm long out in front, keep the hips square
  - Extend 1 leg long back
  - Float 1 leg long back off the floor
  - Extend right arm out long in front and left leg long back on or off the floor
  - Opposite elbow to knee inward curl with the abs, extend long to the neutral line, repeat
  - 1 arm, leg, or both move right or left, then back to the centerline
  - Upper body rotation open with 1 hand behind your head

5. Plum Line Balance Challenges

Standing on 1 leg in any position with good posture
- Single leg lifts Bend one knee bringing the foot off the floor, repeat the other foot

6. Dead Bug

Lay on your back with your knees bent feet flat on the floor, arms are long by your side
Feel your spine into the floor, keep that natural spinal curve with space under the lower spine
Bring 1 leg to tabletop position with parallel shins, then the other leg
Lower 1 leg so the toes tap the floor, bring back to tabletop, then switch
- Addition variation:
  - Arms long to the sky
  - Bring opposite arm to ear as the leg to the floor
  - Back to center before switching

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