What's Posture Got To Do With It?
You must understand that the curve of your spine
Makes your pulse react.
That it’s really the thrill of back meeting hips
Opposites attract
It’s physical, only logical
You must never ignore that it means more that that.
Oh oh oh, what’s posture got to do, got to do with it?
What’s posture but the position that our bones are in?
What’s posture got to do, got to do with it.
Who needs our bones when our bones can be broken?
Lately, have you been thinking of taking on a new direction?
Do you recognize a comparison to Tina Turner’s lyrics in what I’ve written above? It is from What’s Love Got to Do With It, from her Private Dancer album released in 1984. I hope I am not infringing on her copyrights.
Can we compare posture and love in yoga? I believe it is certain and therefore I am going to try.
Years ago, I remember my mother telling me, when I was a child and teenager, to put my shoulders back, and then she would take my shoulders and press them back. I used to hate that. Even now, and even though I’m a yoga teacher, she sometimes still does it.
That can’t be good!
I believe it doesn’t matter how good our posture is, or how much attention we give to our posture; there is always room for improvement. Like in yoga and also in love, with our posture, each day is a new day, with freshness in outlook or perhaps we have a heaviness pressing down on us. Whatever the case may be, press your shoulders back and stand or sit up tall and get on with your day.
When I was a girl and Mom would be pressing at my shoulders, I really didn’t understand what she meant. She could tell me over, and over and over again to put my shoulders back, but I didn’t seem to get it. Even riding horses with a broomstick hooked through my elbows, running across my back to help me sit up straight, that didn’t seem to transfer across to my standing and sitting habits when I was young.
I tell my mother she drove me to become a yoga teacher and that she is really a strict authoritarian yoga teacher in her own right. Of course I am joking when I say these things, but they really are true.
Yoga gives us the tools to improve our posture. Instead of just telling us that we are expected to have good posture, in yoga, we actually learn how to place our shoulders properly and we learn how to strengthen the muscles to keep them placed properly. Yoga and pilates classes both give us the knowledge and the tools to improve and practice good sitting, standing, and even lying posture.
Early on in our yoga practice, as we begin to notice what our natural tendencies toward imbalance are, we may work so hard in earnest to correct these, that we end up creating the opposite imbalance. This happens as we take our corrections too far. This is why it is so important to find that middle ground, that neutral position, of our bones and joints.
Neutral means there is no flexion and there is no extension. The joints are at rest. It is good to put our joins through their full ranges of motion, but first, perhaps we need to also learn what these ranges are. This is where our classes come in. If you have found a good teacher, pay extra attention if they speak about the placement of your bones. If you find this interesting, you can even do your own research online or find a good book. There are many out there right now, especially in the pilates and yoga sections at your local bookstore. One of my favourites is Trail Guide to the Body: How to Locate Bones, Muscles and More, 2001 Biel, Andrew R. & Dorn, Robin.
An easy technique you can start with is the idea of the plumb line posture test. A plumb line is a cord suspended from above with a weight on the bottom to give us a vertical reference point. You can make your own at home by getting some colored twine and a plumb bob weight (4-6 ounces) at your local hardware store. However, most of the time, we use an imaginary plumb line.
Picture the imaginary plumb line along the side of your body. A standard erect good posture will have the line going through:
1. The ear lobe
2. Neck Vertebrae
3. The Shoulder
4. Lower back vertebrae
5. Hip joint
6. Slightly in front of the middle of the knee
7. Slightly in front of the ankle bone
A plumb line test could also be performed on your front and back, to check for balance on the left and right sides. You could see if you had any twisting happening, or one side a bit higher or lower, for instance.
A very important factor in our posture is the tilt of our pelvis. Some of us may have an exaggerated forward or backward tilt, or we may even sway our whole pelvis forward or backward away from the plumb line. This is something you can ask your instructor about, if you feel like you are unsure of what you may be doing.
In my classes recently, I am beginning to bring along my digital camera. This is an excellent tool that we can all use for viewing ourselves, not only in different postures we may practice, but also especially in our neutral posture. Remember; keep your ears over your shoulders. All good things we be yours. Just as in love, we all need our hearts and our bones to be in the right place. And this ain’t just some old fashioned notion.