AN OCCASIONAL UNAUTHORIZED UNSUPPORTED (BUT HEARTFELT) HEALTH TIP
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
Look better . . . fall less . . . what’s not to love about good posture?
I had the great good fortune, a few eons ago, to study modern dance in college with a woman named Eleanor Struppa. “Struppa,” as she was universally addressed, had herself danced with the famed Martha Graham. You could spot her in any crowd — she’d be the person standing, or more often moving, with such fluid grace and effortlessly perfect posture that she commanded a space of her own.
Struppa’s students did not slouch. This was because we might be walking droopy-shouldered along some hall or pathway when a hand from behind would quietly grab a small chunk of hair on the top of our head and, as it was tugged upward, a voice would sing out, “A string! A string! Imagine a string is pulling you upward . . .” End of slouch.
The string trick alone doesn’t do it; there’s a lot of chin-tucking, muscle-strengthening, spine-aligning and proper exercise involved. Good genes are a bonus.
Bone loss, physical afflictions and gravity have their way with the aging body, but concentrating on balance and posture can help us all stay upright. And here’s the pay-off: staying upright is the best way not to break bones.
In addition to a ridiculous obsession with posture, I am even more ridiculously obsessed with balance. I have a collection of balance exercises in my head that come into play in any given spare three minutes. You can sneak in a balance exercise anywhere, as long as you ignore the curious glances from everybody else in the wait lines. Extra points for executing rock-the-boats in a moving elevator — near the railing, please, just in case. Fellow residents in my senior living building are all by now used to this. More than a few join in (though seldom in the elevator.)
So far, it’s working. The last bone I broke was about 50 years ago, playing doubles tennis with my then-70-something-year-old father. That time, I made a graceful leap at the net and wound up with a broken foot. I was in a walking cast for the next six weeks. What I remember best about that time was repeatedly having to tell the story, only to hear the listener ask, “Well, how’s your father?” He was, of course, just fine. His posture was impeccable until his death, at 90.
My posture has now outlived his by a couple of years, thanks in large measure to the lilting voice in my head:
“A string! A string! Imagine a string is pulling you upward!”
This post also appears on my Substack, The Optimistic Eye. C’mon over any time, it’s free
Good emphasis: posture and balance. As you know, my Judith has excellent posture — credit to some years of ballet lessons in her youth. She gets balance work by doing Tai Chi three times a week. I have a physical therapist helping me work on these things, but I have a ways to go. XO
Oh, THAT’s why Judith walks like a dancer! Everyone I know who does Tai Chi has better balance than I. So I guess you and I had better just keep working at it ☺️. 💜
Thumbs-up to everything you say in the article.
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It’s wonderful to have these, dear Frannie. I do a version of the Flamingo Stand every day when I put on my tie shoes, and tie them, standing up without leaning or holding on to anything. It’s an important part of my barely defined exercise routine. Now I will add other exercises. Thank you!
Who needs a defined exercise routine anyway? Actually we all probably do — but for the undisciplined among us, barely defined seems to work.Stay well!!