Do you hurt?

How's your posture?  No seriously, how's your posture at this very moment?  Do you even know what "good" posture is at this point in your life?  Maybe you have an idea as your CPC coaches have brainwashed you to knowing what proper form is: engage your abdominals, shoulders in your back pockets, apples not applesauce, hips in line with shoulders, rib cage back - sound familiar?  Chances are however, without the constant reminder from your coaches and trainers, you have forgotten what perfect posture looks and feels like; especially if you are a female who has gone though pregnancy, someone who has suffered an injury, or an golfer. 

I happen to fall in two of the three categories: once pregnant, now recovering from a shoulder/neck injury.  As a trained ballet and contemporary dancer a 30-45 minute ballet barre "warm up" and "stretch", 3-4 times a week, was the norm for me from ages 8-25. I was able to extend (arch) my back until my shoulders were just about level with my hips, or extend my leg behind me so that it was higher than hip height (for you dancers who are reading this you know what I'm talking about).  Well, the only part of your body; joint or muscle, gaining mobility during pregnancy is your hips - you can kiss that beautiful back extension goodbye unless you continue to stretch during and after pregnancy, or during and after injury, EVERY DAY - yes, EVERY DAY.

Having suffered an injury last fall, I have had to decrease my level of intensity when exercising or teaching group fitness, modify certain movements so that I could actually wake up the next morning and be able to lift my right arm, or look over my right shoulder.  As a matter of fact, I took a break (almost) completely from teaching and exercising for about two months - it wasn't easy stepping away from doing something that I did six to seven times per week (sometimes twice a day) for the last five years. I hated it in fact, but I took the time to step outside the dance and group fitness box to educate myself further of the importance of flexibility and mobility.  I now rely on other resources to maintain and improve my mobility like yoga, centergy and trigger point therapy, which has also become an important piece of programming for my clients. 

For you golfers out there, posture is the foundation of your golf swing.  Any exercises that involves flexibility, range of motion or core strength will help improve your swing mechanics. I urge you to find the time NOW and during golf season, to stretch, whether its a yoga class, one on one training with myself, or dedicating time to foam roll, as it is a critical part in increasing your range of motion, improving flexibility ensuring more speed and power and minimizing muscle soreness.