Thread: Ways to Improve Posture?

I have had bad posture for a long time...scoliosis, arthritis etc problems.
It's mostly in my upper back, between my shoulder blades and I thought that I was doing better at it, but my dance teacher told me yesterday that I need to work on it still. I feel like maybe the muscles that hold my chest up are too weak.
My question is .... do you have any suggestions for strengthening the muscles that hold up the chest or stretches for this area that may help? It seems like I can keep my chest lifted but only for a short time before my back starts hurting..

Tribal dance helped me out in that arena. My teacher kept correcting me to lift my chest up and arch my upper back slightly. Think of those cartoon chickens and how they have such big er, breasts. It hurt me at first because my back wasn't use to it but I quickly got over that.

Try going to a practitioner of the Alexander Technique to work out how to realign yourself. Practice chest lifts using the muscles around your bra strap at the back. Drill them hard.

also remember to walk tall when you are not dancing. I try to carry my good posture over into my everyday life. Many of us have bad posture every day and don't use the muscles we need to.

I would second JencUK's suggestion of Alexander Technique.

one of the best suggestions was from ayshe and ava fleming......those muscles just in front of your armpit? side & upper pec............imagine your underarms, which normally point down....then, keeping your shoulders down, imagine them pointing forward......or, more simply, engage those muscles (like tightening your armpits, if you get the meaning :p).......it lifts your chest without arching your back, or shortening your neck, and even engages the upper ab/diaphragm area(and helps lift your buxom, like a natural bra....those muscles rarely get worked)......it worked for me big time.....also, imagine a string on the top of your head, pulling you up,up,up......that helps too........

i agree with juncUK too, walk everyday with your chest lifted and abs engaged....it'll become second nature.....

Originally Posted by ruta21030

one of the best suggestions was from ayshe and ava fleming......those muscles just in front of your armpit? side & upper pec............imagine your underarms, which normally point down....then, keeping your shoulders down, imagine them pointing forward......or, more simply, engage those muscles (like tightening your armpits, if you get the meaning :p).......it lifts your chest without arching your back, or shortening your neck, and even engages the upper ab/diaphragm area(and helps lift your buxom, like a natural bra....those muscles rarely get worked)......it worked for me big time.....also, imagine a string on the top of your head, pulling you up,up,up......that helps too........

i agree with juncUK too, walk everyday with your chest lifted and abs engaged....it'll become second nature.....

Ditto! Ribcage lifted and walk tall. Everywhere! It'll come... keep at it.

Yoga might really help. You might want to seek out a yoga teacher and ask them about chest openers.
All of the suggestions above sound wonderful as well!

You know, good posture isn't all about the chest and doing the "imagine a bit of string pulling you up" type work. I've been doing a lot of work on this recently and it's about the entire placement of your body. Where are your feet, where is your balance, where is your centre of gravity. I feel that this total posture approach is the only way. Adult ballet classes, plus private lessons with dancers who already have it, and are skillful enough to break it down for you. I am planning on getting a whole load of classes running here on posture related work. I just have to sneek it in the lesson titles so that folk don't think it's too basic and therefore boring.

Pilates really helped me, but more in the lower back (anti-sway back).

I have to further agree with working on your posture all the time, not just when dancing.

I teach Ballet privates to many Oriental dancers and this is our main focus as well as arms and feet. Push ups help too!

For those of us who tend toward a rounded shoulder, head-forward posture, the muscles of the upper back become overstretched, and the chest muscles become shortened.

In addition to daily posture awareness, you need to stretch those chest muscles and strengthen/shorten the upper back muscles.

I struggled a LOT with posture for years as a dancer, and what finally helped me was teaching yoga regularly!

In yoga, there are a whole collection of exercises I would give you, but I can't possibly do that here. But I will recommend a few of the best ones. I would suggest doing these daily.

1) Upper Back Strengthener: Stand with your back against a wall (hips, shoulders & head). Bring your arms to the wall with the elbows even with the shoulders and bent 90 degrees (goal post arms, robbery victim arms). Try to have your elbows and backs of the hands touching the wall. Now try to slide your arms up the wall KEEPING the elbows and hands in contact with the wall. Most people can't straighten their arms all the way without losing contact, so just slide up as far as you can and then return to start position. It's OK if it's a small movement -- you'll be feeling a lot of work happening between your shoulderblades. Repeat as many times as you can. This is much harder than it sounds. Eventually, you might want to add small dumbells or canned goods for resistance, but work up to that.

2) Pectoral Stretch/Chest Opener: Stand in a doorway, again with 'robbery victim arms' and place your palms, forearms and elbows on the door frame. Press your chest forward until you feel a powerful (but pleasant!!!) stretch through your chest and front of your shoulders. Breathe slowly, deeply, gently while you observe the resistance in the muscles and see if you can relax into the stretch. After a couple of breaths you may be able to go a little deeper. Stay for at least 30 seconds to a minute. You can do this several times a day.

3) Sarpasana: Looks like this, except I'd rather you look down at the floor in front of you so the back of your neck stays long:

Start in the prone position with your legs engaged to protect your lower back (roll your heels away from each other, stretch your toes toward the wall behind you, and press the fronts of your thighs into the floor). Fingers laced behind your hips. As you inhale, lift away from the mat with your forehead, nose, chin, collarbones, shoulders, uppper ribs, then lower ribs in one smooth motion, keeping the back of your neck long. Draw your shoulderblades towards each other, straightening your arms and lifting your hands toward the ceiling. At the same time, draw your shoulders down away from your ears by pulling your hands toward your heels ( you'll feel your shoulderblades slide down your back). You can tighten your behind and outer thighs to help relieve pressure on the lower back. You should feel your upper back working and chest stretching, but no strain on the lower back or back of the neck. Exhale rolling down until your forehead is on the mat again.

The point is NOT to lift as high away from the floor as possible! The point is to move slowly, smoothly and with control, while your breathing stays steady and even, and to engage the muscles of the upper back.

Lauren, you always have the best "good posture" exercises. I am going to add those to my growing list!

I'll third or fourth the Alexander Technique. I have issues in the same areas as the OP -- mid to upper back and neck. It has caused me pain in everyday life (traveling, sitting, etc) as well as giving my dancing a very inhibited look.

The Alexander instructor has helped me find and start using muscles that were not really engaged before, and ease off other muscle that were over-compensating.

The difference is huge. I walk much more gracefully all the time. I think I look different (don't know if others think so), and I feel my dancing has had a huge "release". Oh, and most of my back and neck pain is gone.

I have been working with her since early April. One hour per week.

I had the shoulders-slump forward posture for quite a while, the result of long hours at a desk at work. Joining a gym and strengthening my shoulders and upper back did the trick for me.

Originally Posted by Bellydancingcaroline

You know, good posture isn't all about the chest and doing the "imagine a bit of string pulling you up" type work. I've been doing a lot of work on this recently and it's about the entire placement of your body. Where are your feet, where is your balance, where is your centre of gravity. I feel that this total posture approach is the only way. Adult ballet classes, plus private lessons with dancers who already have it, and are skillful enough to break it down for you. I am planning on getting a whole load of classes running here on posture related work. I just have to sneek it in the lesson titles so that folk don't think it's too basic and therefore boring.

well, yeah, thats true, and i did simplify too much...........when i started those excercises, it kind of completed the full body alignment for me, cuz i was a bit lazy and once those missing bits were approached, it clicked..........alignment IS key

my core and hip placement was always good, but my chest and neck always hunched and moved forward in the past, so when those tidbits were called to attention, my posture, improved substantially, so i probably should have pointed that out as well

in my classes, i always advised my students to apply all the 'engagements' as homework(doing it everyday), and most made it second nature within a month....

thanks for pointing that out.....i do have to be clearer sometimes..g.:

I have been thinking about it and realized that I have not been to the gym in over a month and a half. My posture was soooo much better when I was lifting weights. I remember that my posture was really bad before I started going to the gym last time. i went to walmart today and bought some free weights and bands so I can restrengthen the muscles and I also ordered a hatha yoga dvd.
Just trying to stand up straight does not work for me because you can only think about it so often, but I hope it wont take long to get my muscles back in shape!
I'm going to have to check out the alexander method. I have never heard of it.

Something I used to do was sit with my butt against the wall and legs up the wall. It really worked, oddly. I should try doing that again.

Only problem is that when I stand up straight people tell me to stop sticking out my chest...this is because they had no idea I had a large chest before. ..l;,

I went to the alexander technique website and there are no listings for florida.

Originally Posted by Adishakti

Ditto! Ribcage lifted and walk tall. Everywhere! It'll come... keep at it.

I have a private student in her early 30's that came to me with some of the worst upper body posture I've ever seen. When I first started working on correcting it, it actually caused her painful discomfort to simply stand with a lifted, open chest and her shoulders back. We've been working on it for about 8 months and she's really improved immensely by trying to have good posture throughout her daily life.

Recently, she told me a story that made me so proud of her progress. She was at her family's, and her mom asked if she was wearing high heels (she apparently never wears heels). She said that she wasn't, and her mom said she thought she must have been, because she looked so much taller! That nice upright and open posture gave her the appearance of a couple extra inches of height.

Originally Posted by laura 2

I have a private student in her early 30's that came to me with some of the worst upper body posture I've ever seen. When I first started working on correcting it, it actually caused her painful discomfort to simply stand with a lifted, open chest and her shoulders back. We've been working on it for about 8 months and she's really improved immensely by trying to have good posture throughout her daily life.

Recently, she told me a story that made me so proud of her progress. She was at her family's, and her mom asked if she was wearing high heels (she apparently never wears heels). She said that she wasn't, and her mom said she thought she must have been, because she looked so much taller! That nice upright and open posture gave her the appearance of a couple extra inches of height.

Then there's that oh-so-elegant look from having gorgeous posture. I have a friend and fellow dancer who has absolutely fab posture . . . she is very erect and straight without looking stiff. Regal, really. I just love it and I want to be her when I grow up!

Had I just paid attention when my mother advised me about (my) posture as a teenager, I might not still be fighting for that look . . . mother is often right!

Deborah

I agree w/ some of the other suggestions here: ballet, Pilates, yoga, etc. Whatever movement practice develops your extensors and core and opens your chest.

Most of us live our lives kinda hunched over: driving, eating, sitting at desks. Doing work and integrating posture into regular life can counter-act that.

Also, if you have a big chest it might be harder. I have a petite D friend who struggled in the past w/ her posture. She said yoga, flamenco, and a really good bra made the difference for her.

A physical therapist also once told me to pull on the hair a bit on the top/back of my head and imagine it straightening me out. That worked, as did weight training and the other thing I mentioned.

here is an easy one and it works, I take a tahtib or cane, make my students put it across their shoulders, behind their head and drape their arms forward over it, trust me it works. I make them dance with the cane across their shoulders and play zills, etc. When they complain that it's uncomfortable I tell them they can dance with the stick or I can beat them with the stick, take your pick..l;,..l;,

They always choose to dance with it!! I make everyone try it just to see how out of wack their posture really is, just remember to keep your tummy tight!

Originally Posted by Aradia

When they complain that it's uncomfortable I tell them they can dance with the stick or I can beat them with the stick, take your pick..l;,..l;,

Habitual postural problems (most types of lordosis or rounded shoulders or sway backs etc) can be worked on through a dance class and through the strengthening and stretching effort of the student. A teacher well versed in body mechanics could help you there or you could pursue your own education on the matter.

Whereas structural deviations, such as serious scoliosis, differences in bone lengths, how joints fit together, are unalterable. And trying to correct them in a class environment will likely cause you further pain. You may need an ongoing conditioning program as well as having to modify certain postures and positions to allow for your deviations/disbilities, for this you need professional advice.

A well meaning teacher may be able to superficially make it appear you are creating the posture as asked but it could be doing un-reversable damage. You have to be informed on your needs so you can make sure no teacher harms you while trying to "fix" your posture. The bhuz community appears to be more informed than most but we shouldn't replace advice from a medical professional.

Well said NandaDncer, I'd also like to third the Alexander technique.

Certain weight lifting exercises can also build and strengthen the chest muscles thereby, also improving posture.

yes, Im sure that my posture didn't start to get bad again until I stopped lifting weights.

Pilates is excellent for posture. I have a sway back it can never be 100% corrected same with scoliosis but you can find a neturalized postosition through training in pilates alot of ballerinas use pilates to correct posture. In pilates they focus on strengthening your core muscles (stomach) because your stomach supports 85% of you back.. I credit this to fixing by back pain and has given me awesome posture. Ballet training is good for repetition of movement for posture and grace and is good in alliance with pilates.