Have you ever looked closely at all the people you come into contact with every day? They all have one thing in common. Posture. We go up against environmental factors daily, causing our backs, necks, and shoulders to spill forward into a rounded-over posture. It’s no longer just age causing poor posture, but it’s our modern life – phones, computers, binging TV shows, and, of course, gravity. But what can we do about our poor posture? First, we can start checking in with ourselves throughout the day: am I sitting straight with my shoulders back and my head in line with my spine? Second, we can incorporate five mat Pilates exercises to open your chest and improve posture.
What is poor posture?
When we spend time in poor posture, the chest becomes tight, the shoulders roll forward, and the neck starts moving forward, leading to a long-term forward head position called kyphosis. This means the upper spine is rounding forward into a hunched position. Because of this, many Pilates exercises call for a thoracic extension. These exercises, plus many more!, greatly reverse our poor posture by strengthening and stretching our upper back, shoulders, core, and arms. Improving extension restores proper posture by moving the spine from a rounded position to a more elongated or lifted position. To open your chest and improve your posture, grab a mat, and let’s get to it.
1. Rolling Swan: Using a foam roller or just your hands on the mat (by the shoulders if done on the mat), press your hands down and lift your chest up, staying long through the spine and keeping your gaze forward.
2. Goal post on the foam roller or a 9-inch-diameter ball: Make sure your head is supported. Open your arms to a T, then bend the elbows to find your arms in a goal post position. Let your arms be heavy here, and allow the chest to get a nice stretch.
3. Quadruped: Start with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Reach your right arm forward while your left leg lifts and straightens behind you. Focus on keeping the pelvis still and engaging the core.
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4. One-arm row with rotation: Using a Theraband, weights, or on the reformer, pull your right elbow back while reaching your straight left arm forward of the left shoulder and twisting to the right while moving the elbow back. Switch sides. Stay sitting up nice and tall.
5. Thoracic extension over a small ball (or foam roller) – place a 9-in-diameter ball or the foam roller short ways under the bra line behind the shoulder blades. Hold your head with your hands and stretch back over the back as if you were yawning the spine.
Change takes time.
Before we delve into Pilates exercises that open the chest and improve posture, remember that change takes time! You will not wake up tomorrow with better posture and a stronger upper body because you did a few exercises one night. It will take time for your muscles to adjust to more balanced muscle development and new postural alignment. It may be uncomfortable, but be patient and gradually ease into your new exercises and form.
Some of Joseph Pilates’s original mat and reformer exercises focus on building up the upper body and back, leading to improved posture. Many of these are still incorporated today, inspiring teachers to devise additional variations and new adaptations for modern life.
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THE INFORMATION EXPRESSED ON THIS SITE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. WE DRAW ON OUR EXPERTISE AS PILATES AND MOVEMENT SPECIALISTS BY EXPANDING OUR PROFESSIONALISM THROUGH CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. WE AIM TO PROVIDE VALUABLE INFORMATION CONCERNING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PILATES, FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT, AND FITNESS. YOU TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL DECISIONS NOW OR IN THE FUTURE CONCERNING YOUR HEALTH, LIFE, AND WELL-BEING. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT TO BE USED AS MEDICAL ADVICE EITHER TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE OR AILMENTS. YOU SHOULD CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE BEGINNING ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM.
