How do you stand?
2 December 2021
How do you stand? Can you tell me without looking in the mirror?
It’s great to run, practice yoga, go to Pilates most days of the week, but what we do consistently for a long period of time is what makes our body’s happy or not. We need to become aware of the way we sit, stand and walk daily.
Let’s discuss standing for now.
When you stand can you feel your body weight on both feet?
Is there more weight on the one side?
Is your body weight on your heels or the ball of your feet?
Let me explain, if we favour the right side, meaning leaning towards the right, we will compress and shorten the right side. By shortening the right side we weaken the left. If the left is weak, the right is normally tight. The muscle that plays a huge role in this, is the PSOAS muscle.
The PSOAS (pronounced with a silent P) is most of the time involved with this situation.
How do you need to stand?
Lean to the right and then to the left and then find your centre.
Lift your toes 1 cm from the floor and find your heels, then place your toes back onto the floor.
Move your weight to the outside of your feet, and feel what’s happening in your sacrum at the back.
Close your eyes and feel how it feels to stand with equal weight on both feet, relaxed shoulders and an open sacrum.
In the next video, I will explain the PSOAS muscle and what we can do to release it, create space to find balance in our bodies.
Without awareness we can’t change – but if we become aware of what is happening inside our own bodies, we can make small changes that will have a huge effect.
Being aware is not the absence of mistakes , but the ability to learn and correct them
- D. Chidiac -