Medau contributes to your all round health. The constantly changing activities in class provide mental stimulation. The class structure encourages social interaction.. And, of course, Medau encourages you to maintain good posture and develop mobility, flexibility and core strengths.

Are you standing tall?

When was the last time you read an article about eating healthily or taking regular exercise? Probably not too long ago! But how about an article on maintaining good posture? Perhaps you've seen something about core strength / stability, which indeed plays a vital role in correct posture, but it's not the whole story. Posture doesn't seem to get much column space, which I find quite odd as it play a big part in helping you to feel and look good. It's certainly up there with nutrition and exercise when it comes to the impact it can have on your health and well-being.

Top Tips for good posture

Articles on nutrition and exercise often give top tips on how to achieve your goals.   So here's mine on how to help your posture.  

Top tip - like I said, attend a Medau class - well you knew I was going to get that one in first!!   The movements, especially with the apparatus, will help to work the whole body in a balanced way.   This is extremely important.   As I said earlier, posture is not just about one set of muscles, it's about the whole body, about every joint and every muscle - and also your brain!   The way we teach is also very important, as it actually encourages you to become more aware of your body and the way it moves.   This helps you to learn about yourself and recognise any bad postural faults or habits that you may have.   Once you have this knowledge you can start to do something about it.  If you're overweight, the tightness of your jeans soon tells you and you can begin to watch what you eat.   But you may not be so aware of your posture.   Even looking in a mirror doesn't allow you to see your posture clearly.   Some one who started coming to my class said it wasn't until she saw a photo of herself, and was shocked to see how slumped she looked, that she realised how poor her posture had become. 

Get your eyes tested!

Well, you're thinking what has eyesight got to do with posture - actually quite a lot.   If you can't see well you tend to peer forward, usually jutting your chin out, pulling your head completely out of alignment with your neck and spine.   Your head is very heavy (all those brains) and if it doesn't sit correctly on top of your spine then the muscles of your neck and back are overstretched, causing tension through neck, shoulders and back.   Incorrect head alignment can cause headaches, neck and back problems, and balance difficulties.   So try at all times to keep your chin parallel to the floor.  

Of course, it's not just poor eyesight that can cause head alignment problems.  Often people who are shy, or unhappy / unwell (particularly mental health problems) constantly look down at the floor.   Not quite so easy to change, but if only they could try to hold the head well, they might find they start to feel just a little better.    And don't even start me on those people who refuse to get their ears tested because they think wearing a hearing aid will make them look old!!   You don't see many young people craning their head forward and saying 'would you mind repeating that'!

Manage your stress.

Yes, I know, you've read countless articles about that.   A certain amount of stress is a natural part of our lives, but unfortunately many people find themselves with more than is reasonable and it undoubtedly affects your health.   Physically stress manifests itself by a tightening of muscles.   This starts to pull on the joints in the wrong way and can result in poor alignment.   Most common is the raising of the shoulders, which contributes to neck and back pain and also can result in shallow breathing.   So if it's one of those days, take 20 seconds to give yourself a breathing space.   Take a deep breath and let it out slowly, being aware as you do of your shoulders dropping down and slightly back -  aaaahhhhhhh, that's better.   And of course, regular exercise helps fight the dreaded stress, so it’s off to Medau again!!

Sit comfortably.

Now by this I don’t mean slouch on the couch.   I do mean wherever you are sitting make sure your back is properly supported.   Not easy in some chairs, I don't think they were designed for backs!   Whatever you are sitting on make sure you have your bottom right at the back of the chair, so that the lower part of the spine is supported.   I have a very small cushion that I use to support the waist area of my back when I'm sitting on the sofa, which helps to keep my pelvis properly aligned.   Also, when possible, make sure the upper part of your back has some support.   Not always easy on dining / office chairs and even on some of the more modern sofas.   There is a lot of information available on the internet about correct work station position (e.g., www.hse.gov.uk) which is really useful.   Likewise, when you are driving, make sure the seat is properly adjusted to suit you and the steering wheel is adjusted to the right height.   Top tip - wherever you're sitting don't stay in one position too long, get up, move around (do a Medau stretch).   So the remote needs to be over the other side of the room!!

Don't cross your legs.

Well we all know that - but we still tend to do it.   I think most people know that it's bad for your veins but there is another reason.    (Here comes the technical bit, boring, yes, but helpful if you understand how it all works, so bear with me.)  

All your bones are held together by tendons and muscles, which stretch across from one bone to the next (and sometimes on to the next one).   It is these that keep the bones in exactly the right place so that every joint can move properly.   They also hold your skeleton in the correct shape, which means all your internal organs have just the right amount of room to enable them to function efficiently.   Each muscle has a specific length and when they are all at their correct length everything is held in perfect alignment.   However if you habitually adopt a slightly different position, slowly, slowly over a long time the muscle adapts and becomes permanently either longer or shorter.   So constantly crossing your legs eventually makes the outer thigh muscle a tiny bit longer and the inner thigh muscle a tiny bit shorter.  Now your thigh bone is connected to your hip bone, your hip bone is connected to your back bone (stop singing!!).   So you can see that not just your thigh muscles, but many other sets of muscles are going to start to be affected by this one silly little habit.   And whereas you don't have any problems when you are young and healthy, unfortunately as you get a little older the body is not quite so able to compensate, so you start to get niggly little aches and pains.   Might be in your hip, or knee, in your lower back, or feet, as the muscles pull unevenly on the bones and change the alignment of the joints.   And all because you have sat crossed legged!!!   Or stand with your weight on one leg, or carry a heavy shoulder bag on the same side, or a child on the same hip.   Nuff said!    

Wear comfortable, properly fitting shoes.

OK, so a pair of gorgeous heels is allowed - but only for a short while!   High heels may look chic, but they don't do much for your posture, so save them for special occasions.   Try to spend the majority of your time in flats, or very low heels.   Wearing high heels all the time will result in big bulky calf muscles, which is not exactly very glam (as well as a completely incorrectly aligned pelvis, which is very bad for your health).  

Our feet are very important when it comes to posture.  The sole of the foot has thousands of nerve endings, which send messages back to the brain to tell the muscles how to handle your body and keep your balance, e.g., if you are walking up a hill or on an uneven surface.   And of course the feet take the whole weight of your body, so they need to be able to do this efficiently.   They also act as shock absorbers every time you take a step, protecting all your other joints from the force of the impact.   Medau encourages bare feet for class for several reasons.   The feet get a good work out, mobilising joints and strengthening all the muscles.   It allows them to move freely, which is not the case if they are restricted by shoes.   There is also much more stimulation when the sole of the foot is in direct contact with the floor, so much more body to brain activity.  So, heels for Saturday nights out, flats for the week, trainers for sport and high impact work and bare feet for class!

All these tips will be helpful for you, but as you can imagine your posture doesn't change over a couple of months, it happens slowly over many years.   So, keep working on it, keep thinking 'tall' and next time you see a photo of yourself hopefully you'll be able to see the difference.

Barbara Norton