From: anonymous
Dear Jessica,
Thank you for all you do to help/educate us. I have a problem that is blocking my efforts to ride both mentally and physically. In Huntseat, I could skate through this, in dressage, on a very sensitve young horse, no such avenue. At the age of 40, am not sure how to effect a change in my posture, that can be held without my constantly thinking about it. My chest collapses forward, and it seems that unless there is a constantly nagging voice to correct me everytime it "goes", it "goes"! Then, trying to breathe in this correct position is an effort. I feel as if my breathing becomes laboured.
I know, in theory, the correct seat, the importance of staying upright and in balance, and work on this both off and on the horse. I've had Rolfing sessions to correct crookedness, started going to a gym to increase strength and tone, but this chest of mine is starting to depress me. (I'm of avg. height, wt and build, not "overly endowed", so cannot blame gravity for this problem!!) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
ANONYMITY REQUESTED.
Thanks, Jessica!
Hi Anonymous! ;-) Don't worry, your privacy is assured, but you should know that you are by no means the only person with this problem. It's very, very common.
You can certainly change your posture at 40, or at 50, or at 60... It's one of those changes that you'll find it easier to make now, while you're still 40 and more flexible, but you'll be able to make it later, too. If you want to change it, and are willing to work at it, you can do it at any age -- the only absolute requirement is a pulse. ;-)
As for holding it without constantly thinking about it, that's another story. At first, you WILL have to think about it constantly. That's how we make new habits to overlay the ones we already have. At first, your "corrected" posture will feel "wrong" -- that's how your body interprets "unfamiliar". That's why you will need to think about it. You'll need to remind yourself (yes, constantly) that the new posture is the CORRECT one, and you'll need to keep readjusting yourself as your body tries to return to its comfort level and assume the familiar (which body interprets as "right") posture.
That's the bad news. The good news is that if you can really focus on the change and THINK about it for even a month or so, you'll have to do less and less conscious thinking after that, because you'll be on your way to a new habit. This is how ALL of us learn something new.
Be patient with yourself, because it's much harder to learn something that we think we already know how to do. In other words, if you got your first toothbrush tomorrow and were taught how to brush your teeth, you would learn it easily and quickly. If, on the other hand, you saw the dentist tomorrow and he told you to brush your teeth in a way that's not at all the same as the way you've done it for years, you would find it much more difficult to CHANGE what you do. That's the position you're in -- literally! -- when it comes to posture and breathing.
The Rolfing may help, and so may the workouts at the gym (lots of bench presses), because this will help you stretch the muscles across the front of your chest (they're tight) and tone the muscles across the top of your back (they're loose).
I would like to suggest that you find someone qualified to teach the Alexander Technique. This is probably the single most valuable tool at your diposal. It will help you readjust the "building blocks" of your body, balance your torso, normalize the tension in the various muscle groups, and BREATHE. Please try this, and then let me know what happens.
As an adjunct to this, get a copy of Sally Swift's CENTERED RIDING, read it, and try to put what you read into practice. If you get the chance to work with a good Centered Riding instructor, take it.
As for Things You Can Do Right This Minute, I can offer three suggestions.
1) sit (in a chair or on your horse) and put one hand on your chest, the other on your belly. Inhale. Ask yourself which hand moved more than the other one. If you typically sit with a collapsed chest, the hand on the chest will move more, because you're only using the topmost part of your lungs. Stretch your upper body tall, relax your belly, and breathe slowly and deeply. When BOTH hands lift, and especially at the point where the lower hand lifts more, you'll know that you are using your lungs properly.
2) since a collapsed chest goes along with a slumped back and rounded shoulders, when you're ON the horse, you can use a riding crop to remind yourself to sit straight. (No, not by hitting yourself when you slump!) You'll remember from your huntseat days how riders put their crops out of the way by shoving them down the back of their breeches... do this once again, but THIS time the reason is not to get the crop out of the way, it's to give you a tactile "check" to let you now when you're starting to slump. When you sit straight, that crop will touch the back of your shirt between your shoulderblades. When you slump, you won't feel it. You won't want to keep this up forever, but for a few weeks it can be helpful, because those first few weeks are the hardest. Your body wants to stay slumped, because that feels more "natural" and "comfortable", and you need a constant reminder, something to help your body learn the new position.
3) use visual aids to help you stay on track. If you're in a dressage arena with letters, use the letters, and make a conscious attempt to check/fix your posture, your breathing, or both at the letters. If you're riding in a field, use fenceposts, trees, rocks, or anything at all to serve as visual reminders to check/fix your position.
Jessica
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