Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Posture and attractiveness

I heard this mentioned on the radio yesterday - a story in the Telegraph about how

men become more masculine if they tilt their head back a bit and look slightly down their nose, according to scientists.

There is more in the story

What intrested me is that this chimes with some of the things about posture that have been here over the last few years.

I was thinking of some of the things that Esther Gokhale says and also the instructions of Art DeVany, as explained by Dan John the other day:

Art De Vany’s wonderful presentation in Las Vegas (May 18, 2008), and available on DVD, sums a very simple way to follow this idea: Lift your Heart! Not only does it have a beautiful ring to it as a way to live one’s life, it is a simple (elegant) way to move. Allow the heart to rise up to the sky (again, what a great idea for living: Heart to the Heavens!). He also noted to “look over the cheekbones” as you walk and it ties in very well with Gockhale’s insights.

From an evolutionary perspective, De Vany hits upon a wonderful insight: there is no way humanity could have survived keeping our heads down too much looking for snakes in the grass when hungry members of the cat family were hanging around in the trees. The higher the heart, the better the vision. The better the vision, the more likely it is that your genes will survive long enough to bring the next generation.

9 comments:

Betty B said...

When I was running with a group of women in the eighties we always called it "knockers up". Now my personal trainer, a bodybuilder, calls is "pop your chest". I like "lift your heart" the best.

Happy Thanksgiving.

SafeNSharp said...

Another tip....I learned this as a result of combatting sacroiliac joint pain. When you walk, rather than 'pulling'with your upper torso, 'push' or drive with your glutes. At the same time, push away your shoulders from your ears.That combination automatically 'lifts your heart' as you explained in the article, and makes for effortless, more efficient movement. Also keeps our spine healthy in everyday movement.

Todd Hargrove said...

I think this is one of the reasons that posture is hard to change. Changing chest position and head tilt changes the social signals you are sending on many levels, especially regarding issues of dominance/submission, place in the pack or heirarchy. Even if your spine is ready to allow the new head position, your sense of proper social signaling might not be. Try walking around a party with a slightly more aggressive posture and you (and others) will sense the difference.

Todd Hargrove said...

One more thing. Keeping the head low and forward is quite socially adaptive in environments where the right strategy is to show submission and not display a threatening dominance. This might be in a ghetto, or in a social setting where a shy teenager wants to fit in and/or avoid social scrutiny. Imagine the slumped posture of the teen or ghetto kid.

Unknown said...

I've noticed that I have a terrible time as winter approaches and it gets cold. I hate the cold, and my natural reaction is to draw my chin down into my collar or scarf, and hunch my shoulders. Every November, I start suffering from low back pain and tight hips again, and I'm sure that my postural reaction to the cold weather is largely to blame.

Luke said...

I think the weather and it's effects on posture can be seen universally. It is a time when we move less as well. Stay active, stay warm.

weightloss bootcamps said...

Yeah right its too hard to lift your head and chin up in this freezing weather! Watched a 10k race today and they all ran with thier heads down. The ears get too cold!

Jacy said...

Good posture makes us look attractive. Walking with your head and face up makes us look confident and smart.

Gym said...

I think that generally speaking everybody looks better once straight and with nice posture. It shows muscles and probably attracts people more than a bad postrure.