Throughout the day when we are sitting down, and even when we are standing, the easy thing to do is slouch. Sitting and standing up tall with proper posture doesn’t come easy because it requires you to have an ample amount of core strength. Trying to work on maintaining good posture is important because if you don’t it can lead to and cause low back pain as well as issues with the neck and shoulders. One of the best ways to strengthen your core which will in turn improve on your posture is through Pilates. Here are some tips and exercises you can do daily to work on improving your posture and strengthening your core.
- Think of how many times you use your cell phone. Consciously hold the phone out in front of you as you text and browse on your phone so that your neck is not being strained looking down all of the time.
- Perform the plank exercise. Get into a push up position, and then lower down onto your forearms so that your whole body is parallel to the floor. Hold it for 30 seconds or as long as possible. Try doing a few of them with small breaks in between, or try progressing the amount of time you hold the plank. This is a great way to strengthen the whole core.
- This seems so simple, but when you are standing in place, actively pull your shoulder blades back together, stand on both legs evenly, and feel like you are standing up really tall. Focus on pulling your core in and squeezing your glutes. As often as you can remember when your standing, and especially when you are sitting, try to do this.
- To test if you have proper core engagement while sitting or standing, your core should always be braced so that if someone were to hit you in your stomach, it would not really hurt. It seems silly, but is very true!