What's the best thing for posture please?

[ProjectGainsborough]

I've just watched a video of me lurching around at a birthday party like a 900 year old woman. My shoulders are rounded and my arse sticks out - clearly my pelvis never tilted back after childbirth

I've always found Pilates to be a bit meh. What else can I do?

I went to a chiropodist because my posture is bad and he gave me these tips which I think do help.

When you walk make sure your hands are rotated so that the sides with your thumbs is facing forward. This rotates your shoulders back slightly. If you walk with your knuckles facing forwards your shoulders are rotated downwards.

Every now and then during the day stretch up and move your arms as if you are reaching up for the rungs on an invisible ladder. Climb 20 or 30 'rungs'.

Stand in a corner. Place your hands at eye level on the walls and press outwards while leaning forwards. Repeat at shoulder level and slightly lower.

Stand or sit up straight. Place your hand on your abdomen where your diaphragm is. Breathe making sure you can feel your diaphragm move.

Get an exercise roll. Kneel in front of it and clasp your hands as if praying. Rest your forearms on the roll and roll it backwards and forwards.

Make a sort of crab shape where you are balanced on your feet with your hands reaching behind you onto the roll. Lift yourself up and down a few times.

From Callenetics (showing my age here), rotate your arms up in front of you until vertical with your ears, then stretch out to the sides and down. Repeat about 20 times. Reach out behind you with your arms and try to touch your thumbs together, you won't, but it forces your shoulders back.

Great question!
Shamelessly marking place as I find myself hunching and have to consciously straighten up.

Sitting at a desk isn't helping either - I feel the burn in the shoulders by night time

I was once told to imagine a stick ran through your abdomen/torso and out through your head and to straighten yourself to align with the stick

Yoga! Your posture is bad because the muscles on your back are weak. It won't get better by trying to stand straight etc.

You really can't beat pilates

I'll try those Jackelope. And yoga would be worth a shot. I did a year of Pilates and bugger all happened. Maybe I need more aggressive pilates...

I've done pilates for 10 years. With a great instructor I really think it makes a difference. My experience is that classes in gyms can be too big with not enough focus on technique. Smaller yoga or pilates studios can be much better.

Im not saying that it takes 10 years to 'unfurl' but my posture and flexibility now is better than when I was in my 20s. (Mid 40s now)

Ballet. Find an adult beginners class!

Yoga is fab for posture! I always feel taller and leaner after (and more relaxed) great for general heath and fitness too.

Alexander technique?
I love Iyengar yoga.

Ps a weekly lesson of pilates won't work immediate wonders. You do need to be more consciously aware of your posture and make it part of your every day life. It's amazing how many people are beautifully tall in class then slope out at the end with shoulders hunched!

has anyone heard of feldenkrais?

Ballet 100%

Yoga

Any well performed and reasonably frequently repeated exercises for strengthening your back, so Pilates yoga, general strength including weight training Alexander Technique ballet but under proper supervision with good form and REPEATED

Reformer pilates

Iyengar yoga

Insoles for your shoes to stop pronation

A wedge cushion for your chair if you do a desk job

If so, endure the monitor is at eye level, arms are horizontal at the keyboard and your hips are higher than your knees (hence wedge cushion)

(Long term spinal injury and hypermobility syndrome sufferer!)

Might sound daft but my Mum had me & my sisters walk round the house with a large hard book or the next directory on top of our heads.
And was also taught to imagine pole through body, pull shoulders back, pull stomach, head held high in & to walk more slowly or measured.

Has worked. Plus my party trick is to walk/glide across a room with a large book on my head without dropping it .

And as others have said Yoga/Pilates are excellent for posture.

I'm a Pilates instructor and currently doing private lessons with a lady with these posture problems. What happens with this posture type is your hip flexors will be tight (due to pelvic tilt shortening them). Also with rounded shoulders, the pecs become tight and the back muscles weak. We are working on stretching out all those muscles using a foam roller then strengthening through the core (gently) and the back. Really focusing on technique.

If you find a good instructor and really put the principles in to practice in every day life Pilates should really help.