I LOVE this article by Trent McEntire! He is a leader in the Pilates industry and a dear friend. When I worked at his studio, I learned how important our vision is when it comes to movement. As a dancer myself, this seems obvious, but I had never consciously thought how it would affect the way I work especially as I got older. Now, I find myself doing the “squint” when reading a menu, looking over something on the computer or trying to read directions on my children’s toys.

Because I am focusing on back strength this month I thought it interesting to read how eyesight affects posture and connect that with how the back functions.

Our eyes are in the front of our head. We look forward. If we need to look back, we have to turn our entire skull. As humans, we are very forward focused. Most of the day is spent walking forward, bending forward, reaching forward, looking forward… you get the idea. We rarely moved backwards or try to incorporate that range of motion into our daily lives. Our general sense of back space is poor. So, what does that have to do with your eyes?

With a loss of good posture, we tend to overstretch our back muscles and eventually stay that way. The front of the body caves in (hindering organ function and breath capacity) and stays contracted in a short position while the back begins to stay contracted in a LONG position. Hence, our backs never get the action it takes to pull the shoulders, head and spine back into a better place. They are essentially stuck in an over-stretched position, lengthened position.

So, what if we thought of our eyes in the centre of our skull? As if we could see front AND back. If I try and think about seeing the chair behind me with my “back” eyes my body perks up right away. Try it!

The vestibular exercises referred to in the article are excellent for strengthening the eyes and getting posture back (no pun intended) on track. We can incorporate these exercises with specific back exercises to bring full support to the back body and keep it healthy and buoyant for longer.

We have all heard the term “I have eyes in the back of my head”… well, maybe we should start acting like we actually do!

Check out these awesome and fun ways to improve your balance, eyesight and overall coordination at https://www.brainspeedclub.com.