When standing your feet should be shoulder-width apart

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart as this gives you a larger base of support.

Allow the weight to be transmitted though your heels, then find a balance point in the centre of the foot.

Your bottom should be tucked under so that there is not a large curve in the back. There should still be a small curve in the back. The stomach muscles should be drawing in.

Your chin should be tucked in (not up in the air). This is a rotational movement, so as the chin goes in, the back of the head goes up. Think of a balloon attached to the back of the head lifting it up. If you pull the chin straight back, you will get the double chin look (not so good!).

Your shoulders should be relaxed and down, with the bottom of the shoulder blades drawing slightly together. You should feel a lengthening through the front of the body.

From side on, your ear, shoulder, hip and ankle should all be in alignment.

If you are standing in the one place for long periods, like when ironing, place one foot on a raised box or stool in front of you. Alternate the feet to help decrease the strain on the back.

When bending forward over an object (e.g. when bending over the sink to shave, or wash dishes) where possible try to stand with one foot in front of the other. This widens your base of support and helps reduce the strain on the back.

Lessons Phrases stand with your f...

Standing "shoulder width apart" means that you're standing with a little space between your feet. When you stand this way, each foot is straight below the outside of your shoulders.

This phrase is used in sports, exercise, and dance when you're giving instructions.

Efficient movement is truly an art. In sports, it's called "good form." But to us non-jocks, trying to get something done in the kitchen, garage, or garden, it's simply called "good body mechanics."

Many people have come to believe that a shoulder-width stance is the ideal stance for almost every activity. Maybe this is related to the number of personal trainers and therapists who advise people to exercise with their feet shoulder-width apart, or maybe it's just been repeated so often that very few people question it. The problem with this belief, though, is that without the feet wider than shoulder-width apart, bending your knees won't help much. Especially not during lifting.

Try this experiment in lifting a light object:

1) Place something light--maybe a pen--on the floor in front of you. Stand with your feet only shoulder-width apart, then bend your knees and pick up the pen.

2) Next try the same thing with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. The first thing you'll notice is, the farther your feet are apart, the lower you are and the closer you are to the pen. The second thing you'll notice is, you don't have to reach over your knees to get to the silly thing. You can basically straddle it, right?

See how the wider than shoulder-width stance gets your knees out of the way? Feel how it lets you bend at the hips more easily? See how the guy in the second diagram looks more balanced? That's because he is more balanced. (His lower back looks better-aligned too.)

If the wider than shoulder-width stance were only good for lifting things, maybe I wouldn't be quite so in love with it. But this trick is good for lots of things! It even comes in handy with hateful chores like doing dishes.

Here's an experiment to try in the kitchen:

1) Bend and touch the bottom of the sink with your feet merely shoulder-width apart. Make a note of how this feels.

2) Now bend and touch the bottom of the sink with your feet wider than shoulder width apart. Which feels better? Multiply your "better feeling" by the number of times you reach into the sink while doing dishes.

3) Now try reaching into the sink with your feet only shoulder-width apart, and place an imaginary dish into the dish drainer (or dish washer). How much twisting in your spine was required. How much of your body did you use to complete the movement?

4) Now, switch to your super-wide stance. As you put the dish into the drainer or dishwasher, shift your weight onto the leg closer to the dish drainer and bed the knee slightly. What's different? How much twisting did you spine have to do with each method? How much of your body did you use to complete the movement?

Look at the photograph of the woman in a martial arts stance, you can see that her feet are wider than shoulder width apart, and she has shifted her weight to one leg while maintaining good spinal alignment. Can you see the use of this movement in the practice of doing dishes?

Tai Chi classes help you learn to use your body naturally like this. When your entire body synchronizes to complete a movement (instead of just segments of it), you'll be more balanced and less likely to injure yourself.

Your spine will definitely thank you.

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