Sometimes, it’s easy to forget why we exercise. Of course, you know it’s good for you, and obviously there are plenty of physiological and psychological benefits to boot. But one thing that is often forgotten about is the most basic of all- exercise helps us to move! It moves your blood, greases up those creaky joints, circulates our breath, and ultimately keeps us active and mobile as we age. Whilst all physical activity is beneficial, there are better ways to move. Understanding and maintaining the correct body alignment can also build our focus and awareness, and helps us to stay calm and grounded throughout the day!
What Is the Correct Body Alignment?
From the moment we are born we learn how to move. First, we sit up. Then crawl, and once we’re up and on our feet it’s almost impossible to stop us again. As a child, your body is naturally aligned and your bones more flexible. BUT, as we age every injury, niggling pain and misstep causes us to overcorrect, and can actually move us further and further away from a normal, natural posture.
Have you ever been to a specialist citing back pain, to have them tell you it’s coming from your legs? Maybe your hip goes out every now and again, your knees give you grief, or an old sporting injury is limiting what you can do. Realigning your body, and reminding it that there is a way to move naturally, can take away all of those aches and pains, and help you reach your other health and wellness goals, faster!
You Can Talk the Talk, but Can You Walk the Walk?
Reforming and correcting your body alignment is a process. It starts by first admitting that there are ‘better’ ways for your body to move. Once you have discovered this, it’s a matter of showing (training) your body how to move in a pain-free and more beneficial way. The human body is incredible and adaptable, once you show it a better path it will gravitate towards it until it becomes a normal part of your physical self.
You can start by asking yourself this- do I walk properly? It may seem ridiculous, you’ve been walking since you could stand on two feet, how could it possibly be wrong? Again- you have been walking your whole life, but an imbalance can lead to compromise, and before you know it the simple act of walking can be taking you further from the correct body alignment. Check out this article from our friends at Baseline Health for more.
Needless to say, getting the basics right can make a huge difference to your joints and mobility. It can also help you to step up your training, improve your results and reach your fitness goals faster.
6 Simple Ways to Realign Your Body
Retraining your body into the correct shapes doesn’t have to be dull. There are plenty of ways to improve your body alignment while exercising, giving you the benefits of both. So, other than walking, let’s take a look at some simple ways to improve and correct your alignment:
1. Warm-up and Warm down
Most of us know the importance of warming up. It’s crucial to any form of exercise and can keep you moving longer. However, the warm down is just as important and is often disregarded at the end of a workout. The slow cooling down after exercise can help to regulate blood flow, but more importantly, it reduces muscle tension which may pull you out of the correct body alignment.
2. Build a Strong Foundation (core)
Your core is the powerhouse of the body. It relates to your entire midsection, from your glutes to your hips, abs to the lower back. Without a strong foundation (core) to move from, your body is more likely to overcompensate with a particular muscle group. This can lead to a tilted pelvis, tight hamstrings, poor upper body posture and more. So, train your core muscle groups, and especially your booty, to help realign your posture.
3. Wear the Right Shoes
Good posture and alignment begin with your feet. Not only are they our contact point with the ground, but they can also impact every other joint or muscle in the body. Creating and maintaining a healthy posture, therefore, begins with the feet and ankles. Properly fitted shoes lay a solid foundation for your posture and the alignment of the spine. They can also reduce ankle, knee and hip pain, and align your body for exercise.
4. Yoga
One of the best ways to improve your body alignment, whilst also building your mental awareness and resilience is yoga. It can help to improve your flexibility, train muscle groups and strength without force, and improve on your core strength and stability- all of which are crucial to realigning your body. Yoga and other meditative practices can also help you to build your awareness and pay attention to your body. This mind/body connection can help you to identify when and where your pains are from and take corrective actions in the moment.
5. Go Slow
Realigning your posture isn’t something that will happen overnight. Like all good things, it will take time. After all, you’re trying to re-train years of bad habits or compromises.
Similar to yoga, other practices that focus on awareness, and the slow movement of muscles and joints can also be beneficial. Low impact activities like Tai Chi can help you to improve your balance points and focus. They can also help to build strength and stability in your core, and realign your spine.
6. Train With a Qualified Personal Trainer
Recently, research has proven that training with a qualified personal trainer will improve your health and fitness results. However, the benefits go much deeper than this, as a qualified personal trainer:
- Can teach and/or correct your form and posture while exercising
- Will explain which muscles are active and which are at rest in a certain movement. This can help to build your mind/muscle connections, and determine if you are compensating with the incorrect muscle group.
- Can help you to implement small changes each week, which will lead to drastic corrections of your body alignment and posture over time.
At Turnfit, our team of qualified personal trainers have the knowledge and expertise to help correct your posture and realign your body. In normal circumstances, our team is on hand to show you in person how to implement the small postural changes required. However we have also developed our own health and wellness app to help improve your alignment from the comfort of your home, and with regular video coaching calls, we can help you to correct your form before it becomes a bad habit.
How Can I Join The Turnfit Family?
If you’re ready to improve your habits, body alignment and health, you’re only one step away.
Click here to learn more about our packages, and choose the one which best suits your needs. We will send you an invite to download the Turnfit app and set up a time to complete your FREE video assessment call.
Then, make sure you join our community on Facebook for up to date information, access to the team, and a whole host of other free resources, training programs, boot camps and more!
Don’t forget- you can help your friends and family to stay healthy, and earn up to one-month FREE membership when you refer 4 friends– the best part is they can start with ANY package!
For more information about our programs or packages, or about any of our resources please don’t hesitate to reach out and connect:
Call: 778-887-0660
Email: info@turnfit.ca
Website: https://turnfit.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TurnFitPersonalTrainers/
We’re always available to help you improve your health and fitness goals!
About Turnfit Personal Trainers
Turnfit Personal Trainers is founded by David Turnbull or “Coach David” – an experienced and successful Personal Trainer who strives to build happier, healthier lives every day.
With a focus on holistic health, we pride ourselves on making a difference and were recently awarded the 2019 Top Choice Award for Personal Trainer in Vancouver.
Every trainer at Turnfit is committed and relentless in our pursuit to help you reach your health and wellness goals. It’s our mission to help you to build the skills, and mindset, it takes to feel successful in all areas of your life.
For more information, please visit Turnfit.ca, join our community on Facebook and take advantage of all of our FREE content by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
We look forward to hearing from you!
-David Turnbull
