Try taking a journey through your bones. Stand in front of a full-length mirror in your underwear or something tight fitting. Have a close look at the general shape of your posture and begin to identify some of the bony landmarks, working from the ground up.
Feet
Place the feet underneath the hip joints, about 10-15 centimetres apart, toes pointing forward. Make sure the second toe is pointing directly ahead of you. Feel the bottom of your big toe joint, little toe joint and centre of the heel bone melting into the floor.
Knees
Let your knees soften, allowing them to absorb any imbalances in the legs and spine. Feel long at the front and back of your legs.
Sit bones and pelvis
Your sit bones should be pointing to the floor in a vertical line directly above your heel bones with your centre of gravity falling a little further forward through the front of each ankle bone. This alignment helps keep the pelvic bowl balanced without ‘spilling any water’ out of the front or back. You should now have a sense of the weight of the body being distributed through the three points of each foot. Keep the hip bones horizontally aligned, not twisted.
Spine
Lengthen the spine along a vertical line upward through the crown of the head and downward through the tailbone to the floor. Create space between the ears and the shoulders.
Rib cage
Let the rib cage hang like a basket over the pelvis and feet.
Shoulders
Feel the tips of your collarbones and the bottom most tips of your shoulderblades broadening sideways.
Head
Align the ears over the sit bones.
Check the alignment of your body side-on to the mirror.
Now place your hands on your hip bones and begin to move your pelvis gently and slowly forward and back. Notice how playing around with the placement of your pelvis affects your posture as well as your height. You will be at your tallest in neutral spinal alignment. By exploring the connection between one part of the body and another, and how the placement of one part of the body affects another you will begin to acquire good functional posture.
Find a moment to journey through the bones as often as you can to enhance your awareness of feeling your body in space. Enjoy the sensation of lightness and length that it brings.
copyright: The Australian Ballet 2005
Extracted from Bodywise, discover a deeper connection with your body; ABC Books; rrp: $34.95; fully illustrated. Available from all good bookstores.
Bodywise is written by staff at The Australian Ballet. In 2005 The Australian Ballet is performing throughout Australia and internationally. Visit The Australian Ballet’s website, www.australianballet.com.au for details.
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