How to Sit Balanced from Side to Side.

You’re sitting at the computer surfing the net, and for some reason you have come across this blog post.  And you may be wondering, “Balanced side to side really…What does that mean?”  And to your question (if indeed you are asking it) I would ask you, “Are your legs crossed?  Are you leaning on one elbow or the other?  Where is your mouse? What is your computer screen’s relationship to the keyboard? When you are thinking do you tilt your head?  Do you rotate the spine towards your office mate when she is speaking?”  The answers to these many questions, might let you know just how dominant one side of your body is, and they might bring certain imbalances and asymmetries to your conscious awareness.

But wait is symmetry what we are looking for? I have been teaching pilates and movement for so many years, and I have yet to see the perfectly balanced, symmetrical body that I spent so much time learning about…I also find it interesting that we ask our body to be symmetrical, yet our viscera (organs/guts) are not symmetrical at all.  So again what do I mean when I say, “How to sit balanced from side to side.”

Imagine this:  A person is at the computer for hours at a time.  As the body gets tired he starts to lean his left elbow on his armrest, which allows his ribcage to shift to the left.  This also means that there might be more weight in the left side of the pelvis.  Now what does his body do to counteract this shift of the ribcage?  He might tilt his head to the right, and he might also rotate his ribcage to the right just slightly (mostly to see the computer screen) and there might even be a little extra weight in the right foot.  Now imagine being in this position for a long time…What might happen? 

What can we do to prevent this kind of melting?  How can we find a balanced posture without stiffening?

First, when sitting, think about posture and weight distribution through out the entire body.  Distribute the weight evenly through the floor, and lengthen the head to the ceiling….and then every time you notice what might seem to be the inevitable melting (however it may manifest), redistribute the weight and reach your head to the ceiling again, and again, and yet again.

Secondly, add movement to your life at the desk.  Set a timer and every 45 minutes in your chair at your desk do the following workout.  Egg timers that are really loud work the best!  And every time your egg timer rings find this video, and move in your chair.

What do you notice?  Does the melting happen less?  Does your spine feel better?  We want to know…How do you feel?

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA-CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

4 ways to use Pilates to Learn How to Sit

As we continue our “Learning to Sit” series, let’s first look back to where we’ve been.  We’ve talked about how to sit with a readiness for movement, and we’ve talked about how to sit to avoid pain.  This week, I want to outline a workout series that will open up fascial tight spots that might make it impossible to find the longest axis of the spine.  This workout uses segmental spinal movement to find length in the front of the body, so that in sitting the body isn’t pulled forward away from the longest center. 

My suggestion is to take the foam roller to work, and if you happen to be at a desk for any length of time, do this workout.  It’s a great way to avoid the shoulder and neck tension that often comes with computer work, and it is also a great way to keep your body moving for many years to come. 

Watch the video, and then let me know how this workout might make it into your busy life.

1.     Flexion and extension over the foam roller – This exercise lengthens the spine and stretches the front of the body.  The foam roller helps open the breastbone, which will allow the ribcage to support the spine a little bit better.

2.     Psoas Stretch with foam roller under pelvis – Now that you have opened the fascia that runs along the front of the breastbone and thoracic spine.  Try opening the fascia that runs along the front of the Lumbar spine with a Psoas stretch

3.     Bridge with feet on the foam roller – With the front of the spine open, we want to continue by opening the back of the spine.  To do this use the segmental movement of the spine to lengthen the tissue that runs up and down the back.  With the foam roller under the feet, not only are you strengthening your hamstrings, but you are also giving your spine more room for movement

4.     Bridge with Rotation – Maybe as you were doing the bridge your found some chunks in the spine.  You know those moments when the entire concept “vertebra by vertebra” is lost on your spine and basically seven vertebrae hit the ground all at once.  Sometimes adding rotation to the spine allows the vertebrae that feel stuck to loosen and separate from each other.

Have fun, and let me know how it goes

Katrina Hawley C.M.A., PMA_CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

Using Pilates to Learn How to Sit Ready to Move

This morning, I was working with a client that asked me, “How can I improve my sitting posture?”  While I saw it as a fabulous question, I also found myself a little perplexed…When I first started learning and teaching Pilates, I didn’t think about my posture too much.  I was busy learning exercises, and learning how to teach exercises, and then something magical happened. (not really, it simply happened without my conscious awareness). I was sitting in a class once and I noticed, “Woh my posture is really good right now…and it’s not even hard to sit up straight.”  Imagine that a person who had been moving all of her life finally learned how to sit. Imagine my surprise that finally I became conscious of my posture when it was okay, and not when it was awful and causing pain…

This was a few years ago, and it left me with a dilemma.  I was not sure what exercises helped me to find this balanced posture.  I had no codified way to tell someone to practice posture because it happened to me unconsciously when I was learning movement.  It happened to me when I was getting stronger and it happened to me when I was trying to learn EVERY Pilates Exercise not just my favorites.  Since then, I have been on many pseudo scientific journeys with clients at The Pilates Studio.  I say pseudo scientific because in movement theory there is a scientific base for choices that are made.  I work from a strong base of biomechanical knowledge, myofascial relationships, and movement study, but I am convinced that the double blind causation studies are detrimental to the complex system and variables that are human movement.   SO in a pseudo scientific ways I have explored improving posture with people.  And like any double blind experiment I could say, the results are varied, but why don’t you try this or this or this….

What constitutes ”BAD” posture?

For the record, bad posture is a phrase I don’t like, but if I write about improving posture I like to name what it is I would like to improve.  Off the top of my head and for the purpose of the next few blog posts, I have thought of four things to observe.

1.     Is this posture movement ready?

2.    Does the posture cause pain?

3.    Is the posture balanced from front to back?

4.    Is the posture balanced from inside to outside?

The lovely thing about this list is that it is ever changing.  Tomorrow it could be a list of six things, and yesterday it might have only been three.  Just another way that working with posture is a malleable endeavor.  Like my list posture is an ever-changing event subject to many variables in our lives.

For the purposes of this blog post we are going to talk about #1.  Is this posture movement ready?

How to sit ready for movement

When you are sitting, can you quickly get up and get a cup of tea?  Do you have to think about standing up? How easy is it to get out of your car? Do you have access to the muscles in your legs?  Movement ready posture in my mind is sitting with the ability to stand instantly and easily. Movement ready posture is the ability to move efficiently from a sitting position inside a car to standing position outside of a car.  I have found the following physioball workouts to be the best and most fun way to practice. 

What I like about them is the progression.

Step I:  Sit on the ball, sometimes this is the practice in and of itself.  There is proprioceptive challenge, and you must keep your feet grounded

Step 2: Start bouncing on the ball.  Keep your feet grounded.  Your heels should be like roots into the floor.

Step 3: Bounce to Stand.  When you are comfortable bouncing on the ball without fear of falling, Simply start bouncing, bounce higher and then a little higher until you bounce your way to standing

Step 4: Now we’re getting tricky.  Make sure you are really secure with Step III, then bounce your way to standing…wait for it…on one foot.

Step 5: is the most challenging in this series and it provides quite a balance challenge.  Be sure to watch the video before you try this.  It’s important to have a mental picture of this.  You stand beside the ball and lift the leg closest to the ball, then sit on the ball and slide across the ball.  Then plant the opposite foot in the ground on the other side of the ball.  Repeat and be sure to enjoy the wobbles.

Enjoy this first of four how to sit workouts.  Next week we’ll learn how to sit when sitting causes pain

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, CPT-PMA

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

The next two videos illustrate steps 1-5