The Significance of Posture During A Pandemic

As a life long teacher of dance I am mindful of the impact that the body/movement can have on how we feel. We are not compartmentalised beings with brains, feelings and bodies functioning independently. Our mental processes, sensate life and physicality interact in all that we do.

Have you ever been deeply immersed in thought, momentarily distracted and been guided by the accompanying feeling to return to the initial thoughts? Have you ever felt  lacklustre/uninspired/gloomy and following engagement in energetic physical activity noted that your mood has lifted? Rudolf Laban (1879 – 1958) a dancer, choreographer, movement analyst and notator observed that movement is both expressive and impressive. In other words watching another person’s movement gives us some idea of how s/he feels.

Equally moving our own body quickly/slowly/with more/less tension etc influences how we feel. Perhaps because of my professional involvement with movement and dance I am extremely aware of this and I find that I am able to manage my spirits with activity.

Whilst the significance of this in the current context is obvious I am not advocating jumping up and down if social isolation gives rise to feelings of bleakness (although it might help). I am thinking more pre-emptively. Often negativity is associated with feeling out of control or overwhelmed by situations/circumstances. Just working on your posture can make a difference.

You may remember proprioceptors from your school biology classes. Changes in the body trigger the proprioceptors to relay messages to the brain about the state of the body. The messages will give rise to feelings of concern/joy/anxiety/relief etc as the brain decides what kind of response is required.

If as you stand you are aware of a sense of heaviness, your shoulders drop forward, your focus is down and your belly is out you could be said to lack control; gravity is your master. The messages sent to the brain accompanying this kind of posture are likely to be negative. Where however your body offers resistance to gravity you are more likely to feel in control, feel more positive and feel that life is worth living!

So place your feet on the floor beneath your hips. (Your feet should be pointing straight forward so that when you bend your knees you can no longer see your feet.) As you stand upright be aware of the pads underneath the toes, the balls of the feet, the outer edges of the feet and the heels on the floor, now feel your energy pressing down into the floor in order that the body lifts. The legs feel long but not locked. The core pulls back towards the spine in order that the base of the spine drops down (and not out like Max Wall!). The vertebrae stack one above the other contributing to a sense of lift throughout the body. The ribs soften and the shoulders pull down into the back. The neck feels long. The focus is forward and the crown of the head reaches towards the ceiling.

Adopting this posture and retaining the lifted openness as you execute daily tasks will make you feel that you can take on the world (!) or at least, that the job you have been putting off for months is eminently doable! Whilst it may be unrealistic to adopt this posture all of the time this is a proactive strategy that you can adopt to engender positivity during your day throughout this challenging period. Good luck.

Since writing this I discovered a Woman’s Hour broadcast in February 2020 by Harvard Professor Amy Cuddy. She had written a book in which she noted that when we feel powerful we expand. Therefore she deduced that when we want to feel confident we can do so by expanding our body. She suggested adopting superwoman/victory poses for anything between thirty seconds to two minutes. She observed that smiling operated similarly. She referred to the body talking to the brain. It is reassuring to know that we have personal tools that we can draw upon to inform how we feel. Posture, movement and dance number prominently amongst those tools.