Welcome Kristen Kolenda to the team here at Decidedly Equestrian! Kristen holds a B.S in Equestrian Studies. A former trainer/professional, she is now a mental health researcher and clinical Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). She has a passion for helping equestrians through yoga and will be writing blogs with DE to provide you with tips on how to improve your life and your riding. You can follow her on Instagram or learn more about her offerings on her website.
The term “sitting is the new smoking” was first coined by James Levine, a researcher and professor at the Mayo Clinic. In talking with other yoga therapists and physical therapists, sitting has become an epidemic that we pay for in other areas of our lives.
I’m not quite talking about sitting in the saddle, I consider that dynamic sitting; however, the slouching, slumping and poor breathing patterns that we fall into when we sit out of the saddle directly impact how well we sit, move and feel in the saddle.
What we do out of the saddle is what we do in the saddle. If our habits are poor off the horse, we’ll also have poor habits on the horse. I like to pretend that equestrians spend less time sitting than the average person (because we’re so busy and active, right?), but I’m not actually sure that’s true.
We spend long hours pulling a horse trailer, driving to the barn, waiting for the vet, sitting around stressing about bills/lameness/shows/travel/relationships and so much more. When we arrive home we might feel exhausted or drained, or worse yet, be in pain after a long day of putting our horse (and maybe everyone else) first. Then, we collapse in a chair or in bed and do it all again tomorrow.
When we sit in chairs (cars/planes/trains/couches included here), it’s unlikely we’re carrying ourselves with good posture, unless we’ve made good posture a habit or second nature.
Repetition is key to creating new habits and, for most of us, it’s easier to initiate new habits on the ground where there’s fewer distractions.
While repetition is key, it isn’t everything. Proper posture can help you exponentially in the saddle when it becomes second nature. At first it can take a lot of mental and physical effort to create a new habit; but with savvy practice over time, it will become a piece of you.
Unfortunately chairs and car seats don’t seem to be designed to improve our sitting posture. Of course there’s back supports and other devices we can employ, but they simply act as a bandaid on top of poor posture. If we lack awareness of our seat or how to sit well, chairs just position us to tuck our pelvis and round our back. Additionally, the use of smartphones has raised a whole generation of riders who carry their head in front of their shoulders as opposed to stacking ears over their shoulders as their trainer instructs. This “forward head posture” is often referred to as “tech neck” for good reason.
How do you tend to sit? Do you cross your legs? Do you lean to one side? Are your shoulders and spine rounded? Is your head cocked? What you do out of the saddle is what you do in the saddle or at the very least influences it. Hence the term “chair seat” used to describe the less than optimal position of
some riders.
Let me stop right there; it’s not chairs or even the sitting that’s the enemy, It’s too much sitting with little to no awareness of how to sit optimally. Not only does this drive our trainer wild but it also puts a lot of unnecessary stress on our body that usually goes unnoticed. It can even impact our mental and emotional state.
The good thing about bad habits is that we can break them, or better yet, replace them with a new habit that’s going to enhance our riding.
How do you sit? Watch this video.
Here are the first three tools I share with my students to help them sit skillfully.
When sitting:
1. Have your feet flat on the floor, when possible.
Grounding your feet will help you to sit taller and maintain the natural curves of your spine. You’ll feel more open across your chest and be less likely to slouch.
2. Breathe steady.
Believe it or not, breathing efficiently has the potential to improve your posture, your energy levels, mental state, digestion and so much more.
When we slouch our lungs are “squished” in our chest, unable to fully inflate or deflate efficiently. Sitting well allows the lungs space to work as they were designed to. We breathe all day long but I’m asking you to breathe on purpose, to feel how a good breath can “open you up”.
3. Take a stretch break often. Stand up and… (Video of exercise here.)
● Take one arm up in the air.
● Bend at the elbow so your palm drops towards the base of your neck.
● Take the other hand to the opposite elbow that’s sticking up in the air.
● Place the center of your palm around your elbow point.
● Press the elbow up to lift and open your chest and chin. You may even feel some of your abdominal muscles engage.
● Take 3-5 steady breaths as you press your elbow up into your palm.
● Release and repeat on the other side
Lastly, poor posture sets us up for injury while proper, effective posture sets us up for longevity and helps us build resilience to aches and pains. If that gets me more years in the saddle, count me in!
