Could you ever
imagine a ballet dancer not looking in the mirror in training? A mirror
or a set of eyes on the ground are your greatest training tools.
The first
three things we looked at in our shoulders can be easily
fixed by riding in the mirror.
Horse on
the Forehand?
Are you Round Shouldered?
Horse
cutting corners, falling in, lost line?:
Is one shoulder lower
to the ground?
Horse
Crooked?:
Is one shoulder more forward?
In our 'Quick
Test' and the 'Quick Fix' you can also see how a mirror can help you
there!
Quick Test:
On which shoulder do you carry your handbag?
Quick Fix:
How
does your show jacket fit?
Some things mirrors can't do
-
Your "vision" makes
you round shouldered!
Do it
now...sit up straight at your computer.
Uncross your legs. Look up,
and see how your shoulders fall back nicely into place.
Then, LOOK DOWN (like riders do!) and then see what happens to your
shoulders! Just 'looking up' improves round shoulders,
which improves
on the forehand - just by a change
in your vision!
-
Something
we can see from the ground when the rider tips forward (and flops
into a round shoulder position) is that the front of the heart rate
monitor would be lower than the back. Or, the front of
the bra lower than the back. When the chest drops, the
shoulders slop forward.
-
If you
ride straight towards the mirror - you can see if the left or right
side of the heart rate monitor is closer to the ground...which means
that
shoulder is lower.
-
Here's a fun one. For many years I have had riders hold
little sticks in their hands to remind them to follow the rule book
when it says "thumb must be the highest point". Recently
I had a very round shouldered & twisted rider put the little sticks
under each armpit. She could immediately see that the sticks
in the front pointed towards each other. And, because
she could SEE IT she could FIX IT. Can't say "it didn't work"
until you "give it a go..."
Copyright © 2005
[Colleen Kelly. Improve Your Riding ABN 76799531257].
