Ballet dancers are known for their grace, and their magnificent posture is one of the biggest reasons why they look so beautiful moving across the stage. Barre fitness allows you to benefit from the same exercises that help ballet dancers achieve their glorious posture.
Good posture does more for your body than make you look good. It also helps you breathe deeper while improving your circulation. Having excellent posture can also prevent your joints from decaying with age. Plus, improving your posture could have benefits for your peace of mind.
These tips will help you develop excellent posture as you practice barre fitness.
Focus on Your Shoulders
One of the best ways to improve your posture is to think about your shoulders. Many people hold their shoulders up near their ears, but barre fitness encourages students to hold their shoulders down and back. Your shoulders can carry a lot of tension when you aren't paying attention to them.
Engage Your Abdominals
Engaging the abdominal muscles by pulling them inward as you exercise helps you keep your spine and pelvis in the neutral position. You should not be arching your back in barre.
One way to tell that you are not engaging your abdominals is if you lie down on your back with your knees bent (as if you were going to do a crunch) and you have a gap between your lower back and the floor. Press your back down into the mat and activate your core to reap the benefits.
Grip Softly
When you squat, you should not be gripping the barre hard. This only puts more tension into your shoulders, arms, and neck. Use the barre mainly to balance, giving yourself a tension-free stance when you squat down.
Practice Regularly
Practicing barre at home can help you develop better posture too. Ordering your own barre allows you to practice staying in alignment, improving your posture day by day. Once you learn how to keep your body aligned, you can easily work your way to good posture when you aren't at the barre.
Are you ready to learn more about barre and posture? Contact us to learn more about barre and good posture.
