“A person is only as young as their spine.” -Joseph Pilates
If you hang around me for any amount of time, you’ll hear me say, “shoulders back, sit tall…” over and over and in about 100 different ways in a Pilates class.
I look back at pictures of me before Pilates and see my hunched over spine, rolled in shoulders and a lesser version of myself, a mediocre energy, a tired body and a more than less vivacious me.
I remember thinking how hard it was to stand up without hurting or getting tired.
My posture was reflected in my inability to hold my belly in because I literally didn’t have those muscles. And I had no idea that the floor crunches I was doing everyday were actually building domed abs, worsening my issues of a slumpy spine and weak transverse abdominals (the deepest band of abs that run around the mid-section like a corset).
I became determined to really work on my posture through Pilates and have noticed and felt a HUGE difference. And, others notice it too. When I catch myself slumping at times, I quickly switch my posture and my energy instantly changes, my core feels tighter, I feel taller, lighter and the pain in my neck from hanging my head goes away.
Pilates is incredible for creating long, lengthened muscles and stabilizing the core. Especially the muscles surrounding the spine, the trunk of our entire body. Getting taller is as easy as building those postural muscles a little bit every day.
So why is “getting tall” a MAJOR game-changer for the Get List???
For every inch forward your head is of your spine, you add 10 lbs. of pressure to your spine. Bend over to stare at your phone much? That’s about 60 lbs. of pressure for what could be several hours each day.
So, start right now, ditch the cushy office chair that allows you to slump. Adjust your car seat so you aren’t enabling the slump and notice how your neck feels when you’re looking down at your phone. You can improve yourself from the inside out just by making a few little changes in your world.
When your standing, pull your core in tight and think of putting an apple under your chin. When your walking or running, set your eyes on the horizon. When your sitting, think of your back lining against an imaginary wall. When your in your car driving, adjust your seat so it’s tall and create awareness around using your muscles to stay lifted rather than the cushions of your seat.
Notice how your ENERGY changes just by getting tall!
Want to know more about how I took back my life and changed my body forever through Pilates? Let’s get started, click here for a class schedule or 816-805-9366.
Xoxo,
Christy