Ballet Exercises - Better Posture

Ballet Exercises - Better Posture

Odette,

Recently I noticed that I have taken after my mum, who has a very arched lower back and puts more pressure on her heels. As a dancer it is really annoying having an over arched lower back (bum jutts out & lower abdominals stick out). How on earth can I improve my posture (in class we are always told to lengthen our spine and not "tuck". How do i do this without letting abs go which is what they do when concentrating on extending my upper body upwards and bum downwards?)

Thank you
Orla

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Reply by Odette
To:- Ballet Exercises - Better Posture

Hi Orla,
Thanks for your message, it's great to hear from you again. When I was training to become a ballet dancer, our teachers emphasized a lot on not 'tucking' or 'tilting' (arching) because it affects your movements when your posture isn't straight. However, it is a natural for your body to want to go either way and I had more of a tendency to tuck my pelvis which I soon corrected, but it took time for me to find the neutral balance for my body to be straight in my spine.

You can use the mirror at first to check your posture until you are able to feel it by yourself. You really want to think about lengthening upwards, like someone is pulling you towards the sky. This will create more room in your core to use your abdominals and sculpt your muscles to the correct positions. It really helps to keep lengthened, because it gives more space for the muscles to turn out and align your body to the right posture.

If you are more naturally arched, then you will have to take more time to keep correcting it and be strict with yourself. When you feel yourself slip back into this habit, make sure you focus on how it feels to have a straight posture so it gets into your muscle memory.

I hope these tips help for now, you know I'm always here to help if you need. Keep the good work up!

Best wishes,
Odette