Improving & Maintaining Correct Posture | Kathryn Morgan

Hi Everybody! Today’s video is for non dancers and dancers, something you have all requested recently, and that is all about your posture. These are my tips for everybody – they pertain to dance but if any of you want to improve your posture, that’s what this is for! So the first thing a lot of people have trouble with is the chest and the upper shoulder area. We see a lot of people walking around like this.

They’re walking down the street or they’re sitting because we have computers now, or texting. So this tends to get very very rounded and very very tight. If you actually do a stretch where you clasp your hands behind your back and open up the shoulders – a lot of people, if you try that, you’ll be really tight because we’re constantly like this. So I really want you to start thinking of opening this out and elongating the chest area.

The example I use in ballet a lot is – ballet was started in the French courts, and it was a very aristocratic thing.

So everybody had on jewels and fine things. And if you were wearing, you know, a million dollar necklace you wouldn’t walk around like this. So it was a very very self-important kind of thing, and so that’s where this came in. And that’s were good posture came from. So I really want you to be aware of this.

Posture is really here. Ok? So really start thinking of opening the chest, even when you’re sitting at a computer, watch yourself.

Kind of make a mental check. Am I like this?

Right? Start to really focus on opening this up. The other thing that people often talk about in posture is the sort of “string through the top of the head”. They say “Think you are being lifted up by a string.” That doesn’t really help.

What you want to think of is obviously standing tall, especially in ballet class, but that comes from here. We can be as open as we want to in the shoulders, but if our back is arching, we’re not lifting up.

Right? So you want to think of somebody punching you in the stomach – I say it a lot if you have ever taken my class – punching you in the stomach, this stays open, and you’re almost lifting up on inhale. The way to find that is raise your shoulders up really really high, really take a big inhale – now don’t change a thing except put the shoulders down.

That’s the lift you want. Even as you’re sitting, or, you know, as you’re walking around, as you’re sitting, be aware of that. Again, is it like this? Are we arching the back? This puts a lot of pressure on your bones.

Make sure we’re not constantly going around like this. Really think of lifting up through the stomach, someone punched you, and this stays open. And that feeling of lifting up, again finding it with lifting the shoulders and then nothing moves but pushing those down. It’s really not about “being long and tall” because then you get like this.

Right?

Relax the neck, open the shoulders, and make sure we’re NOT arching the back. That’s really really important, especially if you are a dancer. In class, a lot of people think they’re open and lifted, and they’re like this. That’s going to really hurt your back. So think of that little punch in the stomach – it’s not a tuck, because then we look like this.

It’s a very fine line between tucked and lifted. Tucked… and lifted.

Not arched. We have this open, we’re pulling up through here, and we’re feeling that lift and inhale without the shoulders and the neck being strained. Again that “string through the crown of the head” – you can think of that if that helps you, but I see a lot of people start to do this. Make sure you’re neck is not straining like this. The other thing people have trouble with, um, especially now getting in to dancers, is their back.

A lot of people can’t find the correct position in their back.

What happens is we start to lose that little lift. And people’s arms start to hang, or we go up with the shoulders. Right? It’s like pinching a pencil in between this – it’s the difference between this.

.. and that. I’m pinching that pencil in between my shoulder blade and I’m feeling all these muscles. And that in turn helps keep this open because if you lose the feeling in your back, this starts to go.

So don’t let that start to go.

Keep that lifted, and feel that pencil back there, and that in turn keeps the chest open. Even if you’re not a dancer, walking around, just maybe a couple times- it’s good exercise to feel something kind of pinching back there. Right? And that in turn engages everything else.

Whether you’re a dancer or not, again, keeping the chest open, lifting up, finding it, pressing the shoulders down. That’s the energy that you want. And we’re not tucking, and we’re not arching.

We’re lifting up through the waist. Ok?

So try and implement that in your life, especially watch if you’re hunched over all the time. Right? Maybe do this stretch where you stretch out the chest because we tend to get really tight through here. And just be aware of your posture on a daily basis. Again, you don’t have to be.

. like this! But it’s a very aristocratic thing, at least in ballet. If you’re not a dancer, just be aware of this a little bit more, and instantly this changes everything else. Ok you guys?

If you missed my video on balance, this kind of goes along with this.

I kind of talk about the same things, you can click it to watch. The vlogs will be coming back, so be watching for those. I love you all! Thank you so much for watching, and I will see you next time!