Proper posture is good for health, mental clarity, managing physical stress, and for adding the polish to your confidence. In terms of dancing, proper posture is imperative because it not only improves the look and quality of your dancing, it gives you PRESENCE!!.. on and off that dance floor.

To get started, let's look at our daily routine and how we are managing our posture. Well, let's take a look at the way you are sitting right now. Did you know that sitting puts 11 times more pressure on your vertebral discs than lying down? Interestingly, many people associate lower back pain with standing, however, the fatigue you feel while standing usually comes from tired or tiring back muscles. Increased pressure on disks caused by sitting does not often result in immediate pain, therefore, we do not make the association. And even while standing, sitting or moving around, we also contribute to bad postural form by slouching our shoulders, pushing our head forward, or letting our buttocks or abdomen stick out which may contribute to more serious problems such as kyphosis, lordosis, or scoliosis.

Kyphosis (pic on right) Outward curve of the thoracic spine (shoulders rounding forward)

Lordosis (pic on left) 'Swayback' or inward curve of the lumbar (lower) spine

Scoliosis (pic on left) Sideways curvature of the spine in an 'S' or 'C' shape

Now let's talk nuts and bolts about something dear to the hearts of many women -- shoes. I would be remiss if I did not mention the tribulations that we endure in our high heels, especially on the dance floor! The simple act of walking across wet tile or freshly waxed floors in heels can be a precarious proposition, and once we do get to the dance floor, it is clear that proper posture is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is a practical necessity in heels.

Women know all too well the challenges of finding the right pair of shoes that will give you that sexy look while at the same time giving you the support, comfort and sole texture that is conducive to optimal spinning and agility. And if we have been lucky enough to have achieved physical harmony with our shoes, there comes a time when we have to take them off, and feel our tight calves and hamstrings stretching out as our heels come all the way down to the ground. Yikes!

So what should we be doing then? Let's first start by getting an idea of what good posture looks like. To create good posture, we want to maintain the natural curve alignment of the upper (cervical), middle (thoracic) and lower (lumbar) portions of the spine.

Imagine dots at the front of your earlobe and shoulder, at the center of your hip, just behind your kneecap and just in front of your ankle bone. If you can draw a straight, vertical line through all of these points, then you are on the right track. Now looking at your body from the front: hips, shoulders and knees should be level with each other, the space between arms and waist should be equal on both sides of the body; and the kneecaps should be facing straight ahead.

Let's apply these posture concepts to the dance floor. As I've mentioned already, great posture looks awesome and results in better dancing. Keeping your abs tight, your shoulders back and down, your chest out, helps to lay a good foundation for executing movements and patterns with more physical intelligence and accuracy, resulting in a more enjoyable dance, with less chance of injury (to you and your partner). Your balance is improved, your leading, your following, and even the way you feel the next day is impacted by the way you hold your body through labyrinths of spins and turn patterns.

At my first ballroom lesson, my teacher, Rita Grossi, told me to pick up my imaginary suitcases, bring my shoulders down, stick out my chest, and suck in my stomach. I told her that I felt like a freak. She assured me,...no actually, she ignored me and told me to get used to it. In a short time, I was grateful for this advice.

The good news is that good posture can be mindfully employed together with your fitness goals. Let's examine a few of the many tools and tips available to get your posture in line:



Strengthen Your Core

Core strength conditioning is essential to healthy posture. The core muscles are the back, stomach and other torso muscles, which act as important stabilizers (helpers) to the rest of the body. Exercises using a Swiss ball are particularly beneficial in core
strengthening because they are inherently unstable and therefore encourage the use of the core musculature to maintain balance throughout an exercise movement. Also, the level of exercise difficulty can be easily changed by altering body and limb positions.

The 'Superman' or Quadriplex An exercise designed to challenge the back and trunk muscles as stabilizers. Starting on hands and knees, arms straight down from shoulders, knees aligned directly under the hips. Bring right arm and left leg up to a straightened horizontal position with head looking down to ground. The plane from your foot, across your torso and head, to the end of your hand should form an even surface (like a table). Hold, and repeat using the left arm and right leg.

Abdominal Crunches on Swiss Ball With feet planted on the floor just wide enough to provide balance, your lower back on the ball, place your hands behind your head to support your neck and curl your trunk forward (chest toward pelvis) until you feel a good contraction in your abdominals. Return to the start position. It is important that this movement be controlled for maximal effectiveness.

Stretch

It is important to be reasonably flexible. Imbalances due to tight muscles, such as in the lower back, hip flexors, quadriceps or hamstrings can contribute to postural imbalances. Here are a few stretches that can help:

Hamstring Stretch Lying on your back, one leg is straight and relaxed, bring the other one up with your hands clasped under your thigh. Bring this leg as close to you as possible. To intensify the stretch, try straightening out your leg and bringing it closer toward you.

Quadriceps (Thigh) Stretch In standing position, hold your right foot with your right hand and pull it towards your buttocks from behind. Knees should be tucked into each other with your bent knee pointing straight down. Be gentle and ease into it. Do not pull forcefully as this can be hard on the knee joint. Repeat on the other side.

Lower Back Stretch As you lie flat on your back, bend one knee. Allow that knee to fall over the opposite leg as the hip rises off the floor. Be sure to keep shoulders and upper torso on the mat. You should feel a stretch in lower back muscles. Take deep breaths and relax into stretch.

Things to do while sitting,…

1. Lean forward from your hips not from the waist or neck.

2. Sit at a reclined position of 120 degrees and keep knees apart (knees together promotes slouching).

3. Feet should be flat on the floor, and legs horizontal.

4. Neck Stretches - Do the one arm chair stretch. Sit tall, arms to your sides, grabbing one side of the chair from underneath, and tilting your head down in the opposite direction.

5. Avoid crossing your legs where possible, as this twists the lower spine.

Other Tips...

1. Sit tall, walk tall, THINK tall. Imagine a wire attached to the top of your head, pulling you up straight.

2. Put sticky notes on your computer, on your bathroom mirror, on your fridge as reminders for your posture until you get into your posture groove.

3. Check your pelvic tilt. To test this from time to time, stand back straight up against a wall, with your shoulder blades, buttocks and heels touching the wall, tighten your abs and tilt your pelvis up so that the space between your lower back and the wall is lessened.

4. Back Stretch (I love this one) - Find a doorframe, grab with one hand and pull!! If you are grabbing with right hand, right leg should be positioned forward, with most weight on a bent left leg. Try rounding your back, bringing your chin to your chest, or pulling from different angles to get different muscle striations. Repeat on the other side.

5. Be kind to your feet by being gracious with your footwear.


Summary

If you are looking to get very serious about posture, you may want to consider a therapeutic modality called "The Mitzvah Technique", which focuses on the teaching of proper posture technique. It is taught at The Mitzvah Technique Centre in Toronto, and receives visitors from all over the world who wish to "unlearn" their bad posture habits for various health reasons.

Its founder, M. Cohen-Nehemia with his wife, Malka Cohen, have created this technique using some fundamental concepts of "The Alexander Technique" (which they originally introduced to Canada 30 years ago), and expanding upon it to what they describe as a more practical approach for everyday health improvements through posture maintenance and improvement. This discipline has been scientifically verified at the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University and published in the American science journal 'Perceptual and Motor Skills'. It is interesting that in addition to improvements in overall posture, the study also recorded increases in upper chest measurement, height, vital capacity (of the lungs), and lowered blood pressure. Amazing.

There are, of course, valuable traditional therapies available through chiropractors, physiotherapists and massage therapists, to address structural and muscular issues of the body. One of my colleagues, Dr. Bill Wells, who is a chiropractor and A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) provider for Profitness in Toronto, offered some practical advice to help with posture, "Move your body around to avoid stiffness, and drink lots of
water." Hmmm... "Lots of water?" I asked. "Yes," he said, "for one, its good for you, and secondly, you'll be forced to get up." Now that's advice that I can use. It's healthy and doesn't have to cost you anything.

Regardless of the route that you choose to get your vertebrae in vertical motion, proper posture will benefit you on the inside and the outside. Functionally speaking, your body will work better. Aesthetically, you will look better. These concepts apply to your working life, your dancing life and to those in-between times when you may just be wanting to look suave and confident while standing in line for your grande low-fat decaf cappucino with chocolate sprinkles (with just a touch of extra foam, of course). So
choose your own reason to get motivated, and get vertical. We'll see you up there.

Trionne Moore is a Certified Fitness Consultant (O.A.S.E.S.), Certified Fitness Trainer (I.S.S.A.), and Certified Fitness Leader (N.F.L.A.C.). Trionne is a continuing student of John Paul (JP) Catanzaro and gets much of her personal training guidance through Body Essence Personal Training. As a salsa dancer, she is a champion salsa competitor, and part-time salsa instructor. She has traveled to Puerto Rico, Los Angeles and New York, for starters, and has had the pleasure of dancing with and learning from some of the best dancers in the world. Trionne does personal training with Bally Total Fitness and does private and in-home training through her own company, Body Roots Inc.. She can be reached at trionne@bodyroots.com.

References:
1. Aaberg, Everett. 1998. Muscle Mechanics. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
2. Brooke, Nigel. "Life is Motion and Balls Move" (www.paulchekseminars.com) January 2001
3. Hatfield, Frederick C. 2000. Fitness: The Complete Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: The International Sports Sciences Association
4. Jespersen, Michael and Potvin, Andre Noel. 2000. The Great Body Ball Handbook. Surrey, B.C.: Productive Fitness Products
5. University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. "Posture Makes a Difference: In Looks, Self-Image and Health." UC Berkeley Wellness Letter Nov. 2000. 17(2)