How many times have you been told to "stand up"?
More than 10. Probably 100 times.
Just. So. Many. Times.
And then you finally learn where Newfoundpostureland is and you have to "stand up" a whole different way: with forward poise, leftward lean, separation of Church and State (or ribs and hips, WHATEVER), with all your weight over one leg, and a million more variations on the theme of "Stand The F*@% Up".
Yes, we all need to learn how to dance (or even move) with "better" posture. But to different people, that means different adjustments. Some people are swaybacked (lordosis), some are hunchbacked (kyphosis), and some have a sidewise curve of the spine (scoliosis). People work bent over computer keyboards, people have babies and carry them on one side, people have tight hip flexors/hamstrings/chest muscles.
THE LIST IS ENDLESS.
And while "standing up" is an admirable trait, at a certain point, striving for a vertical line that's as tall as possible will get you stuck.
Great latin motion, swing and sway, real movement? Not so much "vertical" as "awareness of one's self in space" and "proper muscle tone".
Check it:
Super lovely, right? I mean, as 9 time world champions, they ain't bad. Nothing too extreme here, but a lot of forward poise, not merely over the middle of their foot or "standing up tall".
If you can use your spatial awareness, you'll notice these two rascals (world finalists for longer than many of us have been driving cars) are NOT vertical. I would call it "leany". Because I'm technical like that.
Then there's this:
Again with the prettiness, but they are not straight up and down.
And for the last example, these two again being hella not upright.
So the next time someone tells you to "stand up", make sure you know exactly what they're looking for: your head back, your chin down, your eyes up, your hips under, your weight towards your toes, your belly in, blah blah blah. And then once you have that down, expect that someone will try to knock your shit over and you'll never see "straight" again.
