What I learned about posture in ballet class

“I’m sure it’s my posture.”

“I’m a sloucher.”

“Well, I’ve always had terrible posture.”

I hear these statements daily in my office. These spinal alignment admonishments come up while discussing neck, back and shoulder pain. The pain and the posture get lumped into the category of “Things I Cannot Change About Myself.” I see that my clients are tired, in pain and just want me to help them find some relief. Can you relate?

“Studies show that the best predictor of whether or not somebody gets lower-back pain — and most of us do get lower-back pain — is whether or not we have weak and, importantly, fatiguable backs.” (Dr. Lieberman, Harvard)

Consider how bad posture is not cause of the pain, but is another indicator of weakness. Weak back muscles are the predictor of pain.

I’ve studied ballet for most of my life. And when others find this out they say, “oh, that’s why you have good posture!” But, the reason I have “good” posture is because I’ve worked to strengthen my back.

I had a ballet teacher in college who loved to stomp with her cane and yell every 82 seconds or so: “Use your muscles!” She had no patience for lazily moving through exercises. She wanted each movement to be executed mindfully and with intention. It was a very hard class to roll out of my dorm room bed for, but within 5 minutes I was grateful to be using my body and mind.

I know not everyone can relate to the thrill of dancing everyday, but I offer my teacher’s critique as a mantra for moving throughout life.

Use Your Muscles.

Sure there’s exercise, but for many, that presents its own motivational challenges. It’s a relatively recent occurrence in human history that we’ve “invented” exercise as a result of our convenient and sedentary lives.

I encourage my clients to actively participate in their daily movements, starting with sitting, as if you were in dance class with me. Use your muscles while you sit. Do not treat it as resting. I know this is a BIG mindset shift. Mindfully connecting to your body and creating awareness about how you are using it can help prevent injuries and pain and, maybe, cut down on the amount of time you devote to exercise.

A professor in the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard, Dr. Daniel Lieberman, recently studied how indigenous cultures use their bodies compared to our modern society. He had an observation about sitting that immediately reminded me of my ballet mistress:

“Until recently, all human beings pretty much either sat on the ground or, if they did have chairs, they were stools or benches. [...] The reason it matters for our health is that a seat back essentially makes sitting even more passive [...] because you lean against the seat back and you're using even fewer muscles, even less effort to stabilize your upper body. And the result is that we end up having very weak backs.”

Human bodies are not meant to be passive, they are meant to be actively used. Create your mind-body connection and use your core muscles. Begin replacing “I have bad posture” with “I’m working to strengthen my back.”

Start now. Think about the muscles in between your shoulder blades. Activate them and draw your shoulders toward the middle of your back. Notice the ripple effect throughout your body.

Use your muscles. When you’re driving, using your phone and sitting at lunch engage them. You’ll help prevent pain and injury. You’ll begin to feel more gratitude for your body. Staying active and present will feel start more second nature. Your future self (with the strong back) will thank you.

Your Fill Up Station

What I learned about posture in ballet class

Use Your Muscles.