How a Pilates Studio can Help Poor Posture that may Cause Many of Your Aches and Pains.

How long do you sit everyday?

When you stand to do the dishes or talk to a neighbor, do you shift you weight to one leg more than the other?

Do you fight headaches, foot pain, lower back pain, a stiff neck or hip pain every day?

Well, more and more studies are pointing to posture as a significant contributing cause of many of our aches and pains. When you sit or stand for extended periods of time, despite your best intentions to do so with “good posture”, gravity usually takes over and draws you into a slouched position. And over time, this poor sitting and standing posture results in your body’s structure to slowly change and adapt to that position. This adaptation can result in muscle imbalances, malalignment and pain.

There is evidence that indicates poor sitting and standing posture can cause:

1.  Lower back pain
2.  Neck pain and stiffness
3.  Shoulder pain
4.  Hip Pain
5.  Foot Pain
6.  Headaches
7.  Fatigue
8.  Decreased ability to take a deep breath

 

So what can you do today to improve your posture?

To tell you to simply sit and stand tall will last about 2 minutes before you move on to your next task and fall into your normal slouched position. Here are a few Pilates tips that can help you improve your sitting and standing posture without having to think about it all the time:

• Avoid sitting in a soft chair, sofa or recliner. These chairs automatically place you in a slumped position. Try sitting in a hard, upright chair with your feet flat on the floor. Use a lumbar roll positioned at your lower back to help you maintain good alignment.
• Get up and walk around every 30-45 minutes of sitting. You don’t have to walk around more than a minute or two, but take the time to do this. This takes you out of that slumped position and improves your circulation.
  When you have to stand in line at the grocery store because the lines are long, try placing one foot on the lower shelf of the cart and change feet every 2 minutes. This helps keep your spine in a neutral position and decreases your tendency to “sink into your hip”.
• Do exercises and stretches that reverse that slumped position. Exercises like walking, running and Pilates can counter balance the stresses poor posture can place on the spine. Find stretches that open the chest, extend the spine and stretches your hip flexors.
• Do Pilates At a local Pilates Studio.

 

HOW PILATES CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE…

 

Making Pilates part of your daily routine can help you:

1. Strengthen your core.
2. Improve your flexibility
3. Improve your sitting and standing balance
4. Improve your posture awareness and endurance in both sitting and standing.
5. Improves overall body awareness.

A well rounded Pilates program taught by an experienced certified instructor can reverse many of the daily stresses that are placed on our bodies every single day. Those daily stresses that are many times the main cause of our aches and pains.

 

ABS Pilates is a specialized Pilates Studio program taught by Amanda B. Smith, a licensed physical therapist, certified McKenzie therapist and a certified Pilates instructor with more than 25 years of experience.

ABS Pilates offers drop-in equipment classes, semi-private training sessions and private training sessions. Sign up for Pilates today and stand taller, feel better tomorrow!