Shoulders. Officially one of my picky points. Why? Well firstly because I know what it is like to feel you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and secondly because it such an easy thing to spot.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a meeting today I could see that 90% of the people in the room were sat with rounded shoulders and their necks jutting forward. Over time that becomes a habit and that habit leads to a muscular imbalance.<\/p>\n
This week I have taught a few classes that are not my usual ones. It\u2019s given me a fresh insight into how many people struggle with their shoulders and upper back posture. If you are in a class with me \u201cShoulders\u201d is one of my common cues!<\/p>\n
I used to have awful upper body posture. I can remember back to being 18 and having a massage. Even then the masseuse told me how tight my upper traps were. Sitting at a desk, working long hours at a computer and not exercising enough really did not help. Fast forward 10 years and Pilates found me. Walking down the road next to a Pilates teacher I remember being told \u201cShoulders\u201d every 2 steps. Finally I got it \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
I now spend time focusing on my shoulder function, strengthening my lats and traps in my back. It really works wonders. I also know my triggers – stress, feeding babies and carrying children. In any of these situations I really need to overfocus on my posture.<\/p>\n
So how are your shoulders and what are they telling you?<\/p>\n
Take a look in the mirror at a few points in the day and check out those shoulders. Are they level or do you have 1 higher than the other? Do you have any pain or tension in them? How do you sit, stand and move your arms?<\/p>\n
Some great shoulder function exercises include: Chicken wings, Diamond Press, Sphinx and using weights for a chest fly and ribcage closure.<\/p>\n
Here is one of my fav\u2019s at present:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n