The Surprising Link Between Office Work and Riding Problems
Rider fitness, are you making it harder to achieve?
For many years, I notice and hear how quickly many owners get out of breath when I ask them to trot their horse up to observe their horse’s movement. I bear in mind some owners really concentrate and hold their breath when I ask them to do this, and others are nervous about being watched even though it’s the horse I am watching (honestly!). But were you aware of how your office setup is sabotaging your riding, fitness, and body? And it doesn’t have to be that way!
Computer and phone posture affects on our riding and body
Many riders I meet spend a significant amount of time on their computer and/or phone, leading to prolonged periods of inactivity. In one position or a slight variation of that. The stereotypical forward head posture and rounded shoulders, arms rolled inward whilst elbows draw out, is what you can visibly see. However, there is a lot you can’t, and this is affecting your whole body.
Bringing aches and pains, stiffness, weakness and difficulty doing movements that were once easy. And these changes to the body translate into many riding problems. And here’s the thing, postural changes are sneaky. They silently creep up on you, from that subtle niggle to constant pain. All of which is preventable.
Postural changes and the affects on our health
Today I’m going to focus on the affects on your rib cage and breathing. When your head draws forwards towards the screen, you begin living on the front of your neck whilst the muscles on the back of your neck contract. Your head also takes your shoulders along for the ride, drawing them upwards, affecting the musculature that spans around them and to and away from them. The arms roll inwards and the musculature across the chest tightens. All these changes alter the rib cage position, which affects the diaphragm.
Which is going to make you fatigue faster when you ride and the postural changes affect the joints of the spine and the way the ribs articulate with them.
But many rib thrust all day long, to give themselves what they believe is good upright “posture”. But by displacing the rib cage to give this illusion, this puts a lot of pressure on the lower spine and affects the diaphragm and much more. Often when working with riders, they know how hunched (kyphotic) their posture has become, but they hide it but it shows up when they ride.
The difference between posture and alignment
Most people think of posture as how they look when standing, sitting or riding, but it's more than that. It’s the traditional practice of holding body parts in fixed positions to create a visual picture. Which is neither maintainable nor functional, and done over time can be detrimental.
Everyone has a natural alignment, which is the position your parts need to be in to work together and correctly. The way you do and don’t use your body daily can change this.
You know those stacked building blocks we aspire to have when riding that’s alignment? Developing your alignment, your foundations gives you this, and takes very little time: it becomes your norm in and out of the saddle.
Achieving and maintaining alignment, rather than forcing a "correct" posture, leads to better functionality and less strain both in and out of the saddle.
Improving Your Riding Through Better Alignment
I recently worked with a rider who has asthma. By focusing on his rib cage alignment and breathwork, we saw a remarkable improvement in his stamina and breath control. This is a powerful example of how correcting your alignment can lead to better riding performance and overall health.
Now I know there are many aspects to manage and help with this condition. I focused on the mechanics of the structures around the rib cage. How can we get them working to their optimum to help the respiratory system?
This rider’s rib cage was being drawn in multiple directions as the photo shows. He struggled initially to feel and connect with that, which is very common. As riders, we have the advantage of body awareness so very much like when we ride; he began to feel and correct the alignment of his rib cage.
Together, we worked out the reasons behind this. And working things out what does and doesn’t feel right is an important part of the process. We then connected this with other parts of the body!
Increasing Riding Stamina
But what was very interesting when we did the breathing exercises when aligned (which isn’t a forced position) How much more breath this rider had. The length of the out breath and how it could be felt moving down the body through the ribs, abdomen to the hips!
By practicing alignment and breathing techniques, you can increase your riding stamina. Aligning your body allows for deeper, more effective breaths, which translates to better endurance and control while riding.
Your Posture Affects Your Health and Riding
Remember, poor external posture affects your internal systems, directly affecting its function and your health. The good news is, your body is adaptable. It changed into this shape from the positions and movements it does daily. And it can adapt back! Your posture isn’t set in stone. No matter your age, you can improve your alignment, leading to better health and enhanced riding skills.
Final Thoughts
Don’t let your desk job ruin your riding and body. Your body—and your horse—will thank you for it.
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