Home » » Aerobics » Posture: a kinesthetic awareness

Posture: a kinesthetic awareness

© Soumy Ana

In this last article about posture, I would like to make sure you are convinced of the utmost importance of a good form.

Although the most at risk populations are people who work at a desk or those who stand erect for many hours at a time, bad posture can also be linked to habits we developed from childhood or habits we developed from a poorly conducted work out. This is why it is so important to pick up the right instructor.

A certain number of people who workout in your gym have a bad posture. Look for them; they usually push heavy weight with their tummy sticking out or hold their knees inward while doing it. They make their lives more difficult and may prepare their bodies for future injuries. If you are going to practice a sport, then make sure you get the best advice on how to control your body.

How can you tell if your posture needs serious improving? You need serious improvement if you feel regular pain in some part of your body while exercising, if you notice that your feet arches are collapsed, if your knees go in when you walk, if you see an irregularity in the line of your spine or if one part of your body is higher than the other, if your shoulders are drawn in towards your chest, if your chin is jutting forward or if your hips are unnaturally tilted to the front or to the back.

What is going on when we exhibit a bad posture, also called bad form? The downward pressure of gravity on the skeleton will cause it to buckle at the hips, the knees and the ankles. Since weight is mostly located in front of the spine, the body will tend to fall forward, giving you a bad posture. A good posture ensures a minimal friction and pressure on the joints and less risks of injury for the muscles, ligaments and tendons.

To develop a kinesthetic sense, that is, to develop body awareness, it is essential to keep a good posture, control your body and be more balanced. To develop this sense, spend sometime learning the sensation of position, of balance, the feeling of muscles contracting and relaxing, the shifting of weight, the different flexion of the body parts. You can ask advice from a personal trainer.

Why being aware of your body through sensations is so important? Because body awareness will make you feel bad whenever you assume a bad posture, i.e., when you move incorrectly, ineffectively or not safely. On the contrary, a good posture will make you feel good, in control, reduce pain in the body and make you use efficiently all the possibilities of your body. You will look directly more confident and relaxed, and also more graceful!