How do I improve my posture and walk more elegantly?

[TreasuredMim]

I would like to improve my posture and walk more elegantly. Off duty ballerina look would be lovely

I do Pilate regularly and don't think anyone would label my posture bad, but I know it could be better - just don't know how to improve it.

Any suggestions?

Alexander Technique? There are a few about, and it's often recommended for actors and newsreaders. Or, what about a few barre/ballet classes? Silver Swans for those of us not in our first youth!

Aren’t you supposed to walk around while balancing a pile of books on your head?

I recently corrected my posture/walking gait and it got rid of the knee pain I was increasingly getting when walking (especially downhill). It's not easy, because obviously you will be very set in the way you walk! Tbh I don't think I'd have managed to make it a habit if I hadn't had the motivation of getting rid of pain.

Correcting your posture when there's nothing actually noticeably bad about it sounds like a project that's unlikely to work! Still... fwiw this is what I did (probably sounds bonkers ):

Head and neck vertical (so that they would both be against the wall if you were standing with your back against the wall iyswim!), eyes looking at horizon level. Rib cage centred over hips. Relax hips, let them 'hang' allowing loose forward and slightly side-to-sidemovement of each when walking, but don't tuck your bum under, allow normal curve in small of back.

The overall effect is probably more 'elegant'. Essentially it looks more upright, but kind of leads with your hips, which gives a more 'feminine' gait. To be clear, I don't mean I'm mincing about or trying to walk in a girlish way , but that it seems to work better with my female build! Before I had a slightly stiff, stompy, slightly forward-leaning gait.

Yoga helps too.

im finding it hard to get my head around 'centring ribs over hips' and letting hips 'hang loose' - I would love to be able to visualise this, we need a diagram!

Use your bum muscles when walking, rather than ‘pendulumbing’ or just swinging your legs round one after the other.
Also Alexander technique-imagine you’re a skeleton in a lab, hanging from a hook in the very top of your head, and everything sort of slips into its best place.

im finding it hard to get my head around 'centring ribs over hips' and letting hips 'hang loose

Yes it's hard to describe. And, in any case, what was wrong with my posture is not necessarily the same as what (if anything) is wrong with yours. Essentially I used to slightly leaned forwards from the hips/waist, and also from the neck. So my ribcage was a bit ahead of my hips and my head was leaning forward/down slightly. Sounds very elegant, don't I?

When it comes down to it, it's all just realigning so that from the hips upwards, everything is stacked perpendicularly on top of everything else, right up to the top of your head. Don't stick your chin out either! Then use your bum and hips to drive your walk, but without tensing them (that's what I meant by hanging loose - it's easy to tense when you're concentrating too much on using particular joints/muscles correctly!).

Eek - apologies for typos. I'm a disgrace to my username!

Do you have a specific thing about your posture that you’d like to improve? As in, rounded shoulders, or sticking your bum out too much? Because if you know what could be worked on you can target exercises and stretches for that.

Seconding ballet or barre class (and it complements the Pilates nicely, I think).

I think there's a lot to be said about the books balanced on top of the head thing.
We did this as kids and I am told I have good posture and a good walk.
Have been told I glide

lazylinguist Essentially I used to slightly leaned forwards from the hips/waist, and also from the neck

I can identify with that description and will give the exercise you suggest a try.

TuftyRusty no specific issue about my posture but could identify with the description given by lazylinguist

I'd likely to move my legs more fluidly as I walk

I'd likely to move my legs more fluidly as I walk

Yup, that's exactly what I feel like I'm doing. It helps to sort of imagine you're sashaying down a catwalk , but a bit less exaggeratedly. That seems to inspire the 'leading with the hips' thing.

Btw I didn't entirely work all this out myself. I was reading a book called 'Move Your DNA', which I'd seen recommended on a thread on here. There is a chapter on walking posture, and I recognised my poor gait in the descriptions and wondered if my knee issues were being caused by it. Hey presto - turns out yes they were!

lazylinguist, I was just going to recommend Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman or any of her other books! She has YouTube videos too under Nutritious Movement. I'm sure there's a pelvic list one.

Is one of the videos.

I'm still a work in progress, but I certainly walk more smoothly and efficiently.

Have just found Silver Swans on YouTube - sorry don't know how to link. Seems to be ballet for over 55s but looks appropriate for any age to help posture. Am going to have go.

It sounds like it’s your walk not your posture as such (which should be good if you do Pilates properly). Can you video yourself and pinpoint what you don’t like about your gait and try to correct that?

I haven't seen Silver Swans videos, but guessing they must be good as I think it's RAD.

I use Kathryn Morgan barre or a general intermediate ballet follow along, if at home, or a zoom class. Lots for beginners, if you are a beginner.

I'm a serious sloucher, the thing that helped me was buying a waist trainer/corset so I could feel when I was slipping back to the slouch.

Shoulders back, walk tall. I've already been told I walk like a dancer when I don't relate in any way. Elocution lessons with books on head worked for me and it's so much better for my back.

One tip that helped me with visualisation was to imagine a bowl of water in your pelvis area, the aim is to keep the water level flat not tilting forward or backwards. I was tilting too much to the back (and putting too much strain on my lower back) so opposite problem to PP above!!

I'm going to try the tips above too

Shoulders back is considered a bit OTT now I think. Pilates advice is shoulders relaxed and down, to disperse tensions, but aligned over the core. It's a softly relaxed but upright posture with the core engaged but the limbs moving freely. Rib cage lifted away from pelvis, but centred above it.