playing guitar

Joan Baez has upgraded her posture since this photo was taken, with benefits for her whole body.

If you’ve been participating in our ongoing Posture 1-2-3 Challenge for alumni, chances are you’ve seen my longtime student, Joan Baez, who regularly joins in. At age 79, she’s sturdy and beautiful, with shapely legs, toned arms, and a peachy, perky butt. Although we’ve all enjoyed her bodacious pipes for many decades, she hasn’t always been such a well-rounded posture student. In her 20s and 30s, her boombox was highly functional, but her booty was lacking.

Case in point: in 1973, at age 32, Joan visited Sing Sing to perform for the people imprisoned there. Her set list included the rousing anthem “I Shall Be Released,” followed by “Viva Mi Patria Bolivia,” a duet with her sister Mimi Fariña. Here she is, singing and playing her trusty guitar, connecting with her audience, doe-eyed and full-voiced in her signature way.

But below the belt things are different. At 3:56 you see a shot of Joan’s behind, and that it doesn’t fill out her pants. Her pants fall poorly on her derriere, because there isn’t the tone and muscle to hold the folds. Her voice sings, but her glutes hit a flat note.

The folds in the fabric of Joan’s pants over her backside while standing upright indicate a tucked pelvis and underdeveloped glutes.

Part of the reason her glutes were not developed is that she used to tuck her pelvis, which puts the glutes in a position of mechanical disadvantage. Tucking the pelvis also sets the framework for rounding the upper spine. This curvature — and the pain it caused her neck — is what she came to me for and what we have worked to transform.

Joan tucking her pelvis while playing guitar and singing.

Young Joan demonstrating a tucked pelvis and rounded upper spine while sitting on the grass.

A flat butt and tucked pelvis aren’t uniquely Joan’s problems. In fact, “glute amnesia” is widespread in our industrialized, increasingly sedentary society. For those of you who share this problem, we’ve developed a special Free Online Workshop called Wake Up Your Glutes: They Snooze, You Lose. If you are available to attend tomorrow, I will be delighted to teach you how to rouse your glutes in their natural context, which is walking. 

Joan is quite diligent about doing her exercises and staying active. She has also done a lot of self-care in general, for her body, mind, and spirit. The results are obvious: 

Joan in my garden last year, preparing to pick some calendula with a deep, healthy hip-hinge and her behind well behind.

Joan celebrating her 79th birthday at Yosemite. Note her excellent muscle tone and beautiful upright posture. Image courtesy Joan Baez.

The moral of this story is that aging doesn’t have to mean decline. You can actually improve with age, as Joan has. Yes, it takes a certain amount of investment and learning and discipline in implementing, but you can change. You can improve. Let’s do it! Let’s join Joan, let’s get our walking shoes, and let’s be walking down the line...

     From the Argentine romantic composing a tango to the K-pop star strumming for an audience of thousands, guitars are a favorite instrument around the world. In fact, the guitar is the second most played instrument after the piano. (source). Amateur and professional players use a variety of playing positions - some are significantly more ergonomic than others. 

    In the classical position, the guitar is sharply angled up so that the wide end of the instrument’s body sits against one leg and the neck is held aloft with the opposite hand. This position allows the musician’s shoulders to be square and resting more posteriorly in line with the back instead of rolled forward as  in the modern style of playing with a horizontally aligned guitar.

Andre Segovia playing classical guitar with excellent form

The picture of Andres Segovia above shows the classical guitar-playing style. We can see that his shoulders remain home - they are open and back even while his arms reach forward to hold the frets and pluck the strings. In addition, his shoulders are relaxed and slope downward. His eyes look down at the instrument but his neck remains vertically aligned with his torso. While not overtly visible, his pelvis seems to be slightly rotated (anteverted), which  allows his back to stack upright. His positioning allows him to play for long periods with ease in spite of his advanced age. Segovia uses a footstool to help keep his guitar at a 45 degree angle. 

A "spacer" helping facilitate good playing form

In the image above, we see a rest placed between the instrument and the thigh to support the guitar. The support allows the player to keep her right shoulder farther back while playing.  

Generally, when standing, a strap is used to keep the guitar elevated. Regardless of the support used, the goal is the same - to maintain healthy posture while playing one’s instrument.

In the image below, we see the opposite - the guitar is played in a way that compromises the player’s posture. This very common playing position used is likely to cause her pain and injury despite her young age. Her right shoulder is rounded forward as she reaches for the strings and her head and neck are jutting forward for a better view of her playing. In addition, her pelvis is tucked, which causes her spine to round forward instead of stacking.  

Unfortunately it is not uncommon for musicians to develop sciatica, tendonitis, nerve damage, and arthritis, and careers can be cut short because of bad playing habits. It is critical to the health of the life-long guitarist that the instrument be held to accommodate healthy posture instead of distorting the posture to accommodate a poorly held guitar. This distinction is important. In the modern era we are quick to change positions to accommodate cellphones, computers, desks, and heavy bags. However, we need our bodies to last us nearly a century, so it is imperative that we endeavor to live our lives in ways that maintain our postural integrity. 

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