Do Your Hips Move?

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Sure, sitting at your computer can negatively affect your posture. So can over correcting, but today I want to talk about another trigger for poor posture and back pain--

Culture.

What I mean by "culture" is the movements we are exposed to, body language that we observe, and how we present ourselves.

One area that a lot of people tend to have culturally-influenced habits around are the hips, or more accurately, the pelvis.

If we just talk about walking for a moment, the pelvis should move as you walk and in multiple directions - up, down, side to side, as well as rotational movement. Our shoulders/upper torsos move similarly, but in opposition to the pelvis.

Movement of the pelvis gives length to your stride and creates a cross-pattern through the body, which helps keep you upright and activate your core. If your pelvis is locked, it might be preventing your upper body from moving as well.

In my generation in the culture that I grew up in, many more young girls took dance classes than boys. I understood that my hips could move in variety of ways because we practiced that directly and it was inherent in many of the moves we learned.

My husband never took dance classes as a kid, but he played a lot of ice hockey and basically learned how to think of his body as a wall ready to meet whatever was coming at him. He's taken some time to get his brain to access how his hips can move.

But this isn't all about dance and what sports we engaged in after school. Our choices about how we position our bodies and move can be influenced by what is modeled for us.

It could be like the cool way to stand in high school, what we perceive as feminine or masculine body language, or ways we've learned to either take up or shrink our physical space.

Some of my male clients have described that allowing their hips to move feels culturally unfamiliar....like "Hmm, I understand why this is better for my back, but for some reason I feel like I shouldn't be moving this way."

And by "this way", I mean allowing for very subtle and natural movement of the pelvis when walking. Nothing Elvis about it...but because we often feel like a new position or movement is the polar opposite of we're used to, it may feel exaggerated at first.

Women have also told me that they have stopped their hips from moving side to side or either tucked or lifted the back of the pelvis to try to make their bodies look a certain shape or to hide their shape. These types of habits can cause compensation in other areas that may lead to back pain.

Do a little experiment on your own and see if you can sense if your hips move as you walk or if they tend to stay locked in one place. If you do feel some movement, what direction do they move in? Up and down, side to side? Do they rotate?

Are you intentionally preventing your hips from moving? If so, how does that feel? Tense or relaxed? What happens if you stop holding your pelvis still?

Answering these questions can help you start the kind of observational inquiry that's crucial for changing posture. Use the examples I've given as food for thought. Your discoveries may be different from my examples or you may not be sure if your hips are moving. The way you move may just feel "normal" and it can take some guidance and improved body awareness to sort it out.

And the bottom line is (no pun intended), if your pelvis doesn't move when you move, for whatever reason (including past injury or how you sit at your desk), this could be a source of back, neck, and shoulder strain and pain.

Want to find out if you are restricting movement of your pelvis? This is one of the topics covered in my classes.
If you're a beginner, I highly recommend taking an online intro group class series. These classes are small and everyone gets individual work. A series of individual online or in person sessions is also a great way to begin and you can start by taking just one to see if it's a good fit for you.