Plumb Pilates

Latest articles on www.plumbpilates.com.au

How to sit with neutral spine

https://www.plumbpilates.com.au/post/how-to-sit-with-neutral-spine

And some great minds

https://www.plumbpilates.com.au/post/words-of-wisdom-1

Words of Wisdom 1 Remember your mind is your most powerful muscle when diligently directed yet it can be very difficult to harness and always has a mind of its own so to speak. A few quotes from some great minds that may assist you in life. “One who delays his work is always wrestling with ruin.” Hesiod, circa 75...

How To Sit With Neutral Spine

We all spend a significant part our lives sitting and many of us are in this position for most of our waking hours. This brief article aims to provide some guidance as to how to improve your posture when seated.

Neutral spine when seated is achieved with an upright spine and your knees bent so you can place feet flat on floor. Ideally your knees should be a little bit lower than your hips so if you are in an office chair adjust the height of the seat to achieve this. Now ensure that your weight is distributed evenly through both sit bones (ischial tuberosity). ‘Surprisingly’ your sit bones are the two bones in your buttocks that you sit on.

Next ensure that the three points of your feet are in contact with the floor ie, heal (centre of the calcaneus), outside pad of the front of your foot (head of the 5th metatarsal) and inside pad (1st metatarsal). Now push your sitz bones down through the seat of the chair. You should feel the curvature of your lower back reducing, your pelvis tilting back (posterior tilt) and your legs will feel a bit lighter.

Now for shoulders, gently draw your shoulder blades (scapulae) back and down away from your ears. An extremely common problem is sitting with elevated shoulder blades. Removing the arms of an office chair will help avoid this. The ideal tactile cue to help you understand where your shoulder blades need to be, is to have an instructor or friend run their hands across your shoulder blades in a downwards direction.

Finally, you need to realise your neck (cervical spine) is part of your spine. To align this correctly, imagine the crown of your head is pushing towards the ceiling. Remembering to keep your shoulders down.

Now you should be sitting with neutral spine. However, there is one other handy tool to ensure you are breathing adequately. Place your hand palm down and expand your fingers laterally to achieve the maximum gap between your pinkie finger and thumb. Then maintain this position and place your thumb on your sternum and with the pinkie on your belly. The gap between your sternum and your navel should be this distance. If it is less, sit back until the gap is reached. Maintaining this distance will help ensure you are not hunching and impairing your breathing.

The core techniques I have outlined above can be applied in any form of sitting eg, cross legged on the floor, in your car, sitting at a bus stop, on the couch etc. And remember get up at least every 45 minutes.

Please note I am not a medical doctor or ergonomic specialist. I am a qualified Pilates Group Mat Instructor.