I decided to do something about my posture

I can’t believe it’s been SEVEN months since my last Pilates class—and that this once part of my daily schedule is no more. I paused my unlimited membership in early March in hopes that we’d lock-down and be back to business as usual within a short period of time, but alas, we know how that panned out. When I ultimately cancelled my membership, they gave me six months to start my final month of unlimited classes (per my contract), and it turns out October 20 is my deadline to go back. Well, I’m still not comfortable going back into an indoor group fitness environment so I have no other choice than to eat the $200 for this final month—but it’s a small price to pay to protect my health.

I’m still working out just about every day thanks to The Mirror or a stroll around the ‘hood, but I definitely feel the effects of not having someone tell me to pull my shoulders back and down every damn day. Add in the fact that I’m spending most of my day at my desk working or stalking CNN’s live news updates and I’m worried about my posture. (My husband has even started telling me to stand up straight from time to time.) Now I’m self-conscious, as I remember my mom always being paranoid she was getting a “hump.”

I was perusing the latest Goop offerings last week and came across Gaiam’s Restore Posture Corrector, but I wanted it ASAP and found a non-Neoprene version on Amazon (for $5 less). I’d admit it sat on the ottoman in my office for a few days before actually trying it out, and when I finally slipped it on I needed a little more help than the included instructions provided.

Fortunately the Gaiam website had a more in-depth guide, so now I’m sitting here in a harness but my shoulders are definitely back and down. I moved the foam pads to under my armpits for a little extra cushioning, and I am definitely sitting taller and straighter. The directions say to wear it for only 15 minutes the first day, and to slowly increase wear by 15-minute increments moving forward. Am I going to be sore from it tomorrow? We’ll see… I can eventually work up to wearing it six hours a day—and it’s discreet enough to wear under a slightly loose top (so I don’t have to walk around the house looking like I’m wearing an abbreviated straightjacket (although I may need one of those too if our lives continue on this path for much longer).

In just the last 10 minutes, I’ve found it’s essentially a constant reminder to sit up straight (especially when I start to slouch)—and based on the muscle activity I’m already feeling in my back, I understand why Gaiam advises starting off wearing it in short bursts. But with that said, my posture is better already (while wearing it) and I’ll definitely be sticking with it, but I’m thinking about spending the extra five dollars on the neoprene version to see the difference.