Join New Paradigm Wellness on Facebook: Sometimes the best opportunities to improve discomfort happen when you aren’t moving. How we settle into our joints while we are sitting or standing can make all the difference in our alignment and stress.
Pain or discomfort is usually our indicator to tell us if we have settled into a “bad” posture, or someone else notices and gives their two cents to “Sit up straight!” We try to remember our posture rules to straighten the spine, pull up the head, tuck the tushy, etc. We hold this ballerina posture momentarily only to resume our usual posture because we are unable to sustain it. The problem is this “correct posture” isn’t working. What might be straight for some is too straight for others. It’s important to think about posture from the bottom up, creating a foundation for you and then positioning your body in a way that is supported by that foundation. I wanted to talk about Aston-Arcing as a method of finding your perfect sitting posture, made for you and how your body is now.
Judith Aston taught me that it is important to create basic movements that allow each person to find their best place. I love the simplicity and flexibility of this personal attention. Aston-Arcing may not leave you in familiar place but it will help you find a more comfortable place. Not only does this exercise help find your best posture, but through repetition it actually loosens and massages the spine gently improving mobility.This is a great exercise for people who sit a lot at work.
To see a demonstration of Aston-Arcing with further instructions click on the video link below:
As you sit down in the chair, hinge your hips and sit on your sitbones. Be
present, inhale, and exhale as you bend your spine evenly starting at the pelvis and dropping your head down. Then inhale as you push off your sit bones to lengthen your back. As opposed to pulling up from the top of the head, this extension should activate the core muscles giving you support and stretch. After extending, relax into neutral position, somewhere in-between when you first sat down and an extended spine. A relaxed position means just that, this should be the most comfortable place with little effort to maintain. Your shoulders should be relaxed and supported by your ribs.
Hope this got you thinking differently about posture. Spread the word and sit comfortably.
Xantara says
IMHO you’ve got the right asnwer!