|
In previous issues of Positive Stance, we looked at how shoes can impact our posture; in this issue, we examine how clothes can mold us too.
People who work with the Gokhale Method often discover that their new upright and relaxed posture makes their clothes look and hang better. On the other hand, some clothes, especially those that are more tailored, restrict their newfound freedom.
Jeans - Cut to Tuck?
Tucking the pelvis is such a prevalent stance among all generations today that most jeans and pants are cut to reflect this posture. Fashion models tuck, teenage boys tuck (and highlight their tucks with "sagging" pants!) -even fitness instructors tuck and teach their students to tuck.
Most jeans are cut tight with a horizontal belt line and no crease at the groin.
Jeans cut to fit a tucked pelvis are more symmetric front to back. They lack room for well-developed glutes (buttock muscles). The belt line tends to be horizontal. The fabric over the groin lacks a fold and tends to fall in a line between the abdomen and the front of the thigh.
If you have worked on restoring your natural posture, you may find that many pants are too tight in the back, that the belt line pulls too low in the back and rides too high in the front, and that the fabric over the groin area is excessive and unflattering.
With truly well cut pants, though, you will find that your Gokhale Method techniques provide you a flattering look. 
This Jamaican woman is wearing jeans that fit her well - the belt line angles down toward the front, there is an crease in the fabric over the groin, and there is ample space in the seat.
When you learn to antevert your pelvis, your belt line angles down slightly, and, with your behind behind you, you take more fabric from the seat of the pant. In addition to this change front to back, you can also reckon on reshaping your bottom as you glidewalk your way to a firmer, perkier behind (8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, Ch. 8). This not only gives you athletic advantage and raises your metabolism, it is also attractive and gives you a more youthful look as you age.
A simple piece of cloth tied to become a skirt fits all shapes and sizes of women perfectly.
Take the hip-hinge test!
If you are not sure about the fit of your pants, do the hip-hinge test! (8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, Ch. 7). If your pants don’t allow room for you to comfortably nestle your torso between your hips as you bend, then they are actually
encouraging you to tuck! Tucking keeps your hamstrings short and restricts the proper range of movement of the pelvis around the top of your thigh bone. This
compromises the health of your hip joint (“use it or lose it”), and your back, which is forced to bend if your hips won’t.
Fortunately most modern clothing is knit or loosely-fitted and permits healthy posture. Loose clothing alone, however, does not good posture make.
Jackets - Cut to curve?
How does practicing the Gokhale Method affect your upper body? With
your arms and shoulders positioned further back, your spine lengthens and
straightens, and your breathing naturally expands your chest. As your traps and
rotator cuff muscles learn to relax, your shoulders slope down more and your
arms hang wider from your body, giving you a more powerful presence.
You may find that your tailored jackets and blouses round your arms, shoulders
and chest forward. It is important to make sure there is sufficient room to button
a blouse or zip up a jacket without having to round your shoulders forward. Be
prepared to get your clothing adjusted or even move to a different size. A truly
well-cut piece of clothing can wrok like a posture guide, gently nudging you into a
posture that is a step up from where you habitually find yourself.
A well-cut jacket reflects and perpetuates healthy upper body posture.
Coat hanger tip!
Most hangers are shaped for slightly forward-drifted shoulders. Turning them around when you hang up your clothes makes for a better shape and a great reminder to roll your shoulders back.
Try the shoulder roll test!
So, next time you try on a jacket, give it the shoulder roll test. Be discerning! If you can’t perform a comfortable shoulder roll because it restricts or encourages your shoulders forward, find another garment that will support you in your posture journey.
Best,
Esther
It's A Fit!
Learn exercises for your glutes and shoulders that will ultimately help your clothes fit and feel better!
When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 10:00 am Pacific Time
Where: Online. We will email you access codes to the event when you register, a few days before the event and on the day of the event.
Most traditional clothing, whether close-fitting or loose-fitting, reflects natural posture.
"Anyway, there is one thing I have learned and that is not to dress uncomfortably, in styles which hurt: winklepicker shoes that cripple your feet and tight pants [that squash your balls]. Indian clothes are better.” .."
George Harrison
"Her profile as well as her stature and bearing seemed to gain the more dignity from her plain garments, which by the side of provincial fashion gave her the impressiveness of a fine quotation from the Bible,—or from one of our elder poets...”
George Eliot, Middlemarch |
Janine Farzin, Chicago, Illinois
Lauren Heydt lives in Delaware, where she earned a Master’s degree in Education. At a young age she began an active life studying dance and was fortunate to extensively
Abeja Hummel, Mendicino County, California
able. Stretch-lying is second nature and oh-so-comfy. My core sets
itself automatically much of the time. My "kidney-shaped" feet have stopped
my bunion from hurting as much. And yes, oh, yes, I can now walk from one
end of my five-acre horse property to the other with a black, rubber feeder
full of grain on my head, leaving me two hands to lead a horse and open a
gate. Gone is the numb rear end (mine, not my horse's) and neck pain I used
to have. I still have more of the method to practice and perfect, of
course, but I feel so tall and lithe and flexible now. Today - black,
rubber horse feeder on my head. Tomorrow - who knows? Any suggestions? 
