Let me tell you a little about my Pancake Butt.
For as long as I can remember, I have been frustrated with my flat flimsy back side. I would watch J. Lo and Beyonce shake their booties and be totally envious. I would literally think to myself – I want a butt! We all know what it’s like to be perpetually on the hunt for “good butt jeans” hoping to find a pair that accentuates the positive back there (while eliminating the negative, of course), but for me there really was no pair of jeans that could do the job. I needed to make my own good butt! I needed to build some muscles back there. In order to do that though I would have to take a closer look at why I didn’t have much of a butt in the first place, and the answer to that question lies in my poor postural habits.
We all have areas of imbalance and weakness and for me this resides in the good ole’ glute muscles. Mine just aren’t that strong, but it isn’t their fault. Part of this is genetics, sure, but a much bigger part of the problem is the way I have habitually stood and carried my body for years and years and years. I have had a tendency to exaggerate a posterior tilt of my pelvis, tucking those gluteal muscles under and as a result putting strain on my lower back and not allowing my glute muscles to fully develop or do any of the work. It’s not pretty …
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| Pancake Butt. |
Do you see how horribly out of alignment this is? Just looking at this makes me cringe. My butt is flat as a pancake because my tailbone is tucked under as my pelvis tilts too far to the posterior. This is how I used to stand pretty much all the time. I never really paid much attention to the fact that my pelvis wasn’t neutral (had no idea) – until lower back pain and SI joint issues started to develop. That was not fun, let me tell you.
Then I found Pilates and it changed my life. The exercises themselves are incredibly helpful and have taught me to be more self-aware and to move more mindfully no matter what I am doing – whether it be standing in line at the grocery store, emptying the dishwasher, running a marathon or putting my baby down for a nap in his crib.
The way we hold our bodies matters. It makes a difference. Trust me. Take it from someone who used to call herself Pancake Butt, okay?
With a little focus and self awareness and a tilt of the pelvis to neutral, my Pancake Butt disappears:
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| Hello there, Butt! Nice to see you! |
I still have a lot of work to do to develop my glute muscles to their full potential. Right now I have a set of exercises I am doing every day to strengthen them and increase flexibility in my hamstrings. My goal is to turn my Pancake Butt into a Power Butt – so I can be a stronger runner, protect my lower back from any future issues and, admittedly, fill out those jeans just a little more.
Tell me … How are you holding your body right now, as you read this? Are your shoulders tense? Is your tailbone tucked? Is your pelvis tilting one way or the other? Do you know where your imbalances are (we ALL have them!)? What are you doing to correct them?
