The Cues Your Posture is Giving You
Jen Landry 
Your posture can tell you a lot about what your workouts will look like and what kind of pain you maybe having.
The Cues Your Posture is Giving You
"Pull your shoulders back", "Stand up Tall", "Suck in your Belly Button". These are quite common posture cues that I am sure you have all heard. If you have never learned why or thought about what is making you slump; it could be a very eye-opening window into how your body is functioning. There is no perfect posture, but it is important to know what to avoid and what to aim for. Often if you figure out how you are standing and what your posture says about you, coming up with a game plan for fixing it is relatively easy. Although you may understand what is going on in your body and have a great plan, it will take time and commitment in order to fix it.
Posture is not everything, but it is definitely a big thing. Everyone will still look and stand differently, but the more optimally you can stand, the more optimally your body will be able to work. After you learn about the difference in postures and figure out which one you might be, it will give you a lot of insight into what might be tight, weak, overcompensating and even causing some of your pregnancy and postpartum symptoms. In order to compensate for growing a baby, our core tends to check out a bit to help make room. In order to make up for this lack of tension in our core, the body will default in one of two ways.
Anterior Pelvic Tilt
Posterior Pelvic Tilt
Neutral Posture (Although there is still too much forward head posture)
The first posture is an Anterior Pelvic Tilt. In other words, you stick your chest and butt out and put the stabilizing demand on your lower back. By flaring your ribs out and creating the excessive lumbar spine, you are putting a lot of pressure on a possible Diastasis Recti while making it very hard to recruit those deep core muscles. A lot of low back pain may be a result of this posture.
The second posture is Posterior Pelvic Tilt. This PPT leads to asking our butt to do all the stabilizing, leading to a severe over gripping of the glutes and making your butt tuck under. Ever ask yourself where your butt went after pregnancy or why you suddenly have pancake butt?
Most of the time, glute grippers are also shoulder slumpers. This posture can cause a low belly pooch and a compressed core canister. This will lead to a lot of pelvic floor disfunction because over gripping can mimic or be paired with pelvic floor tightness. If you leak, this could be a major reason why.
In both cases, we are not helping our core or pelvic floor. Whether you are in APT or PPT, the abdominal canister is not able to work optimally. If any part of the canister support is out of whack, then everything will be out of whack. A lot of women with leaking or prolapse will find a decrease in discomfort and/or symptoms by starting a program after they have a posture assessment. This occurs because it has given them a great starting point for what weakness or tightness maybe occurring in their body, thus relieving pressure off the PF.
Now that you have the information, what do you do? First, you need to snap some pictures. Snap pictures of yourself standing still and from all angles. Examine the photos and take notes. You will also want to take photos or record yourself while exercising. Watch the videos and examine those too. You might switch between two postures during a single movement as you might have a different posture exercising than you do standing. Take notes and examine everything. Secondly, start stretching and getting on a foam roller! Anything tight needs to be released. If a tight muscle stays tight, it may not matter how much you strengthen it, it will continue to be a problem. Last but not least, you need to strengthen. Much like stretching, if you don't strengthen the weak muscles and joints, then they cannot help hold a good posture.
Every man and woman are going to be one of three types of postures; anterior pelvic tilt, posterior pelvic tilt or neutral. Within those types there will be variety and difference, but the ultimate goal is to achieve your best neutral. After you have observed yourself standing and moving through different ranges of motion, you can assess which posture you might fall into most. Then it will be time to create a plan that will include appropriate stretches and strengthening exercises to help. From here, it is time to execute and watch the magic happen!
If you need any help assessing photos or videos or trying to figure out the best first step, let us know! Moms Fit Life can help. We have a full posture assessment, personal programming, and even options for live calls to help guide you.