The POSTURE PANDEMIC
DUCK FEET, HIGH-HEEL SWAY AND PHONE BACK: NOT THE LATEST DANCE MOVES, BUT PROOF THAT OUR POSTURE HAS NEVER BEEN WORSE, THANKS TO SEDENTARY LIFESTYLES, HEAVY BAGS AND OUR WHATSAPP ADDICTIONS. TIME TO ENGAGE YOUR CORE, SAYS REBECCA NEWMAN
Of the many places I might have hoped to find ecstasy, I didn’t expect it to be on a gym floor in Covent Garden. Nor would I have imagined such a rushing feeling of joy could come from something as apparently simple as stretching: while my shoulders are tight, I do yoga and thought I was supple. However, a growing understanding in the wellness world is emphasising how a lifestyle replete with desks, bags, heels and phones is doing us far more damage than we realise. We’re twisting ourselves out of balance. And, to my surprise, as I worked my body into better posture, I experienced a feeling of release that was physical, but also strongly psychological.
My epiphany came under the guidance of Suzanne Wylde, head trainer and founder of Moving Stretch, a method that focuses on stretching for overall wellbeing. ‘The main reason I started to stretch was the prevalence of poor posture,’ said Wylde. Her recent book, Moving Stretch, shows how you can recondition your muscles and fascia (the connective tissue around your muscles that can become knotty) with exercises that future-proof your posture. ‘We’re increasingly sedentary, with time spent bending forward over a screen; people’s postures are changing for the worse, particularly in the upper back. It affects everything from our levels of energy and fitness to our state of mind.’
The old notion of ‘keeping one’s chin up’ when things aren’t going well has now been corroborated, with studies proving that an upright posture has positive affects on depression*, as well as maintaining self-esteem and positivity in the face of stress**.
‘I felt it myself,’ Wylde added. ‘As soon as I changed my posture, I had more confidence, I felt happier, and I was more open to new experiences.’
Looking at my body, Wylde noticed my shoulders were rotating inwards, sending tension up through my neck (hello headaches); my leg joints were rolling (hello knee problems), and my weight was not distributed
evenly through my feet. ‘It is very difficult to feel composure if you are not even on your feet.’
Sadly, I’m not alone in these symptoms. Luke Worthington, a biomechanical specialist who focuses on the body’s structure and alignment (soon, every boutique gym will have one) at Soho’s Third Space gym, told me: ‘One of the most common postural issues is an anterior pelvic tilt, in which the female pelvis tips forward, turning the knees inward, which can lead to pain and injury.’ All Third Space clients go through an ‘Out/Set’ analysis and are given a regime that helps correct bad alignment in the body.
Another leading fitness space, Ten Health & Fitness, has launched physio-led classes with a focus on bringing clients into better alignment. Ten’s Perth-born senior physiotherapist Elle Rich explained: ‘In Australia, there is a huge focus on postural prehab [where the body is examined for imbalances and these are worked on before starting a training regime], which is now coming the UK.’ To help me correct the tilt in my hips, Rich gave me exercises (such as drawing my navel tightly in, and donkey kicks where I visualise the movement beginning in the glute muscles, in the middle of my jeans’ back pocket), designed to undo the weaknesses that come with daily desk work.
When I mentioned the adjustments I was making to Niki Rein, founder of barre-based workout Barrecore, she exclaimed: ‘I see this problem again and again. Intellectually, we think we’ve nailed core engagement, but you still see people sticking their bum out and flaring their rib cage.’ To encourage change, she has clients ‘think about sending the tailbone down, and imagine a corset tightening around the ribs.
It is probably the most important adjustment most women can make.’ I try it and instantly my hips straighten out, my ribcage draws in, and I feel my body lengthen. ‘Standing like this is flattering; you look leaner and taller. It means that when you exercise, you will be working the body more evenly and more effectively.’
After a couple of weeks doing Rich’s exercises, I felt my shoulders broaden and began holding my head higher. I also realised I was starting to breathe more deeply. ‘Yes!’ said Bridget
Woods Kramer, a teacher at Triyoga yoga studios. ‘Posture is essential for the flow of breath. If your shoulders are dropping forward, you’ll constrict your lungs, and feel dull. The flow of breath stills the mind. You’ll act from a place of steadiness and strength.’
As a journalist who writes about fitness, I approach exercise with a strong focus on good form: I run with a short cadence so that I land on the balls of my toes and not my heels; I think about the shape of my plank, with my butt and abs tight, a straight line from my ears to my shoulders and hips. It hadn’t occurred to me that my postural deficiencies – the curve in my shoulders, the hip flexors that are too tight – were impeding my exertions, preventing me from putting my body into good form, no matter how hard I try. It was only having a stiff neck from a boxing class that led me to investigate my posture in the first place. After doing Rich’s exercises every day for four weeks, I felt the differences in my body, the new challenges to my deeper abdominals and to previously lazy muscles in my bum. ‘You will now find your fitness is more sustainable, and you can work harder to achieve your goals,’ said Rich. I certainly felt more energetic and zen.
Could good posture be the new power pose? Millions of people tuned in to social psychologist Amy Cuddy’s 2012 TED talk on body language, but the scientific research she based it on – that standing in a ‘superhero’ pose boosts testosterone and effects how we feel about ourselves – was called into question when a much bigger study didn’t replicate her findings, saying that the ‘posing’ made no difference to hormones or to people’s behaviour***. Instead, it has been argued that the way to harness power through your posture is by working your body into a balanced stance all the time.
Back on that gym floor, I lay down and pushed my limbs in various directions as Wylde provided resistance with her hands. She explained how poor posture triggers a vicious cycle: ‘If your shoulders are hunched in a defensive fight-orflight position, then you will consistently feel stressed.’ To begin with, stretching feels like any other kind of exercise, but as Wylde worked through my body, I started to feel an extraordinary sense of expansion. When she compared a photo of me from before to now, it was clear to see I am standing evenly on both feet. ‘Do you see how you look younger, too? By having you stretch your arms and shoulders into resistance, I’ve released the fascia that were pulling down on your face.’ I now feel younger, too, with a childlike optimism, like the weight of the world is gone from my shoulders and even my tailbone is tucked under. If this is the power of posture, I never want to give it up.