Posture.

[Ashkir]

Well. I have bad posture. I slouch when I walk or sit. Now that it has been over a year of my third heart surgery, I hope I'm done with them. ><'. (Likely not but anyway going on)

When I was little and growing up and had chest pain, I'd grab a stuffed animal or a pillow and put it in front of my stomach. I'd sit hugging the pillow/stuffed animal, and slouching/leaning over on it for hours at a time.

I did it all through my life while growing up. Even as a teenager, when I experienced chest pain while in class, I'd slouch forward using my arms to apply pressure to my chest. My teachers usually realized what I was doing and quickly called an ambulance to take me to the hospital.

But, all this slouching never helped my posture.

People say a way to fix posture is to sit with your back against a wall and shoulders pressed against the wall.

But wow. It really is painful to sit in a position I never have sat in.

><.

Any tips on gaining better posture?

 

[dsouter]

Best posture I ever had was after breaking my collarbone.
They put a figure 8 brace on and it pulled my shoulders back.
6 weeks of that and I was in the habit.

 

[Tass]

Just an idea...if you have access to a riding stable that offers Dressage/English riding lessons (never taken Western Pleasure lessons myself) but they are invaluable at teaching you to sit with your shoulders/hips lined up properly. If only for a lesson or two, you would learn what proper actually 'feels' like.

Can't tell you how many times I heard "lean back" and I would yell back "I am leaning back!" only to see on a video that I was riding with my shoulders too far forward (in front of my hips).

For a non-horsey version: ballet

Tass