Three Exercises to Perfect Your Posture

Your posture says a lot about you. A good posture does more than just show confidence, it keeps your body aligned and healthy. Especially during my pregnancy, I consciously make an effort to keep my posture strong and healthy. Here are three easy exercises to perfect your posture:

• Shoulder Roll: A good majority of us hold tension in our neck and shoulders. Often times during exercise and throughout the day, we subconsciously scrunch our shoulders. To keep from getting tight in this area we need to make sure that we aren't holding tension here. The best way to do this is by doing a shoulder roll. Start by scrunching your shoulders all the way up to your ears. Then roll your shoulders back and drop them all the way down the spine. Most of us can feel the tension release right away -- try to keep your shoulders down and back like this all day. Almost every time I do this, I realize that my shoulders are creeping up and forward without me even knowing it! 

• Neutral Pelvis: Lower back pain can come in a number of different ways but one way to relive back pain and ensure that you are achieving proper posture is to check in with your hips. A common problem in both men and women is an arched back or flat back. Both positions disrupt the space in our vertebrae and cause the discs in our back to rub against one another. Ouch! Read my post The Spine Bone's Connected to the Hip Bone for more information on how to find your neutral pelvis.

• Check Your Feet: Most likely due to all the turnout work I do in my barre classes, I'm totally guilty of this one. The feet are the foundation for our entire posture, so it's important that we are standing on them correctly. When in a standing position, our feet should be parallel to one another, toes facing forward. Your weight should be evenly distributed between both feet with weight in both the front and back of the foot. Also make sure that your feet aren't rolling in toward one another or out toward the sides. Do you tend place all your weight in one leg when you're talking to someone? Break the habit! 

These simple steps are such an easy way to fix our posture and reduce back, hip and other aches and pains. They really take no extra energy or time, just a little body awareness. You'll be amazed when as you continue to check-in with yourself, one day all of these things will come naturally! Here's to a healthy posture, babes xo