How do you Sit Tall?

“Sitting tall” – how do you do that? Unfortunately, a lot of us were told to “sit up straight” by lifting with our shoulders in a manner quite  tense and not at all natural. I learned the following exercise from The New York City Ballet Workout, Vol. 2, hosted by Peter Martins, Ballet Master in Chief, New York City Ballet from 1990-2018:

First, establish a neutral pelvis.

• Stand with your legs together, knees slightly bent
• Relax your shoulders
• Stand up straight and tilt the pelvis forward, arching the spine
• Now tuck the pelvis under, flattening out natural curve in back
• Repeat, bringing the pelvis into proper alignment; the tailbone goes down; abs are tight
• Once you find neutral pelvis, keep this alignment

Now, apply the concept of bracing the abs:

• Stand up straight and exhale, shoulders relaxed, pressing abdominals to your back
• Breathe normally and feel your abs lift up as if you have a corset around your center
• Bracing the abdominals to the spine supports the center of your body and strengthens the core muscles

This will improve your posture, not immediately, but if you do a little every day, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your body responds. It’s also a good exercise to perform just after mounting and before your warm-up with your horse. If you’re curious about why your horse will appreciate this, check out Why Lift & Sit Squarely.

The New York City Ballet Workout, Vol 1 & 2 are on YouTube. You can skip the dance part if you like and go straight to the Stretch portion of the workout which will really test your abs. However, the dance part is really fun to try! After all, we want to dance with our horse!