Rooting Down and Grounding into Your Foundation
Increase your body mind-body awareness and create space for presence and ease
If you've been around for a while, you know I often talk about the seasons and share my reflections on my relationship to them. Now that we’ve passed the spring equinox, I thought I would draw on seasonal inspiration yet again.
Winter is very much a season of hibernation for me...I stay inside, I tend to slow down and rest more. Spring, on the other hand, is the time when I think about planting seeds and new beginnings. As we approached the spring equinox, I noticed a natural desire to be more active, engage with my community more, and started feeling inspired to create.
The idea of planting seeds and new beginnings brings to mind the image of a seedling and the way it has to root down into the earth to grow tall. This image of rooting down to grow tall is similar to the way I think about the body and posture...stay with me on this little journey, I promise to tie it all together. 😉
Perfect Posture…Does it Exist?
When it comes to your posture, how many times have you heard yourself say “I have terrible posture”? How many times have you looked at someone and admired their “perfect posture”?
While I would love to tell you there is a “perfect posture” and that once you find it you’ll feel AMAZING all day long, the truth is, that’s just not true.
Each and every one of us is as unique in our body structure and what feels good in our bodies as those little seeds we’re planting. What feels good for me may not feel great for you and visa versa.
When you realize this, the mental load of trying to find and hold a “perfect posture” melts away and you can be present for what matters most to you.
You might be thinking, “But, Bre, I can’t just give up on my posture…it still needs help!"
Finding Your Foundation
I hear you! What I love to think about is working toward finding a foundational posture. A posture that’s uniquely YOURS. A posture in which you feel rooted, grounded, steady, and a sense of ease. Just like those little seedlings, when you root down you have the support from which to stand tall.
When you find your foundational posture, you'll be able to move in and out of it and be in flow with your body knowing that you have your foundation to return to throughout your day.
If you’d love help with this, I’ve got you! I created a free guided meditation that’s designed to do exactly this. You’ll get to practice tuning in to your body, increasing your mind-body awareness, and grounding into your foundational posture.
Finding Flow
You might be wondering why this is important to move in and out of your foundational posture and be in flow with your body or why it matters.
There’s a saying, “your best posture is your next posture,” and I wholeheartedly subscribe to this idea.
Take a moment and think of a time you were sitting or standing for a long period of time. With that prolonged position, you might have started to notice some discomfort, some aches or pains creeping in. When you’re one position for a period of time, your body - muscles, ligaments, tendons, joint capsules, nerves - get a little stagnant. These tissue feel so much better when they have fresh, oxygen rich blood brought to them and the perfect catalyst for that is movement!
This doesn’t mean you need to do some big movement practice, though you can do that if it feels good for you, but I encourage you to keep it simple and easy to implement.
You might find that the seemingly smallest forms of movement are enough. Here are some ideas for you:
Shifting your weight in your chair
Moving from sitting back in your chair to perching on the edge of your chair
Moving from sitting to standing at your desk
Moving from static standing to rocking your weight side-to-side
The options really are endless.
If you do have time and a space to move around for 5-10 minutes every 30-60 minutes, that’s an added bonus! You might walk around, do some bodyweight exercises - squats, lunges, step-ups, push-ups, etc - jump around, dance...find something feels fun for you!
Remember to Check-In
The most important thing to remember to do throughout your day is to check in with your body and stay curious about what’s present.
Are there any areas of tension? Pain? Resistance?
What happens if you shift your posture? If you invite softness or a breath in?
How is your emotional state? Are you feeling stressed? Overwhelmed? Excited? Joyful?
When you can pause and connect to what you’re feeling in your body, it strengthens your mind-body awareness and helps you create a deeper understanding of what works best for YOU and YOUR body.
Here are a few questions that might help as you practice being in flow with your foundational posture…
What postures feel good?
What postures are uncomfortable?
What are all the options to switch up your sitting and standing postures? (I encourage you to get really curious here and explore!)
What can you do to switch up your posture more often during the day? What cues or reminders might you need to help you check in and remember to move your body in some way?
Getting Tactical
I intentionally held these tactical suggestions for the last part of this post because I think the more important things for you to have when it comes to posture are:
Awareness of and connection to your body and how it feels in space
Cultivating a mindset of curiosity around your posture
Shifting from “all or nothing” and “perfect posture” thinking to “what if?” and “could I try…”
Finding flow and ways to switch up your posture throughout the day
So, here are some general, broad strokes ideas for standing and sitting posture.
Please Note: These are not meant to be prescriptive or medical advice. Your body is unique, so take what works for you and leave the rest. If you are having pain or would like individualized support, please be sure to consult your physician or physical therapist.
General Suggestions for Standing Posture
Ground your feet under you around hip-width distance apart (try out a more narrow stance, a wider stance, and one somewhere in the middle and see what feels best for you and your body)
Shift your weight around your feet until you settle with weight distributed equally across both feet from heels to toes
Soften your knees just enough to give them a wiggle
Center your pelvis - think of it as a bowl full of water and try to find the position where your the bowl of your pelvis is balanced so the water is being held within it
Gently lift your breastbone and the crown of your head to the sky - you might think about a string gently pulling up to help you stand tall
Roll your shoulders up toward your ears, bring them back just a little and set them down without forcing anything
Check in with what you feel and make any adjustments to create your unique standing posture
Ideas of Ways to Switch Up Your Standing Posture
Normal stance
Narrow stance (feet together)
Wide stance (feet wider than hip width distance apart)
Step-stance
“Captain Morgan’s” position
Standing on a foam pad, pillow, or rock mat
Half kneeling
Walking on a treadmill
General Suggestions for Sitting Posture
Find yourself in a chair in a position that allows you to ground your feet on the floor
Check in with your pelvis and look for 3 points of contact - your sit-bones (right and left) and the front of your pelvis (your pubis). If you need to, you can rock your pelvis forward and backward until you feel weight spread equally across those 3 points of contact on the chair.
Gently lift your breastbone and the crown of your head to the sky - you might think about a string gently pulling up to help you stand tall
Roll your shoulders up toward your ears, bring them back just a little and set them down without forcing anything
If you’re able to sit all the way back in your chair and your chair has a back, you can experiment with adding a towel roll behind your lower back to take up the space between your lower back and the back of the chair
Check in with what you feel and make any adjustments to create your unique sitting posture
Ideas of Ways to Switch Up Your Sitting Posture
Sitting all the way back in the chair with back supported
Perching on edge of chair
Sitting on an exercise Ball
Sitting criss-cross applesauce on your chair or on the floor
Hips-to-heels kneeling (with a bolster or yoga block for support and comfort)
These postures, ideally, feel both grounded and easeful. If you’re noticing a lot of effort, get curious. What might you be able to shift or change to bring in more ease?
And, remember that your best posture is your next posture so stay open to fidgeting, moving around, shifting your weight, changing your position, etc.
Be sure to send me a message to let me know how I can support you in finding presence and a foundation that works for you.
Until next time,
Bre
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