Anthony Goldsmith
This image says a lot about why posture is never just stand up straight. Both red lines are the psoas, the same deep muscle on each side of the body, but shown in two very different nervous system states. The psoas links your spine, ribs and pelvis to your legs and is deeply tied to stress, safety and survival. When the nervous system lives in go mode, this muscle stays switched on, pulling the body forward, compressing the chest, altering breathing and changing how we move, sit and even feel. Over time it’s not a posture problem or a tight hip flexor issue, it’s a regulation problem. You don’t stretch this away, you calm it, reconnect it, and give the body a reason to feel safe again. When the nervous system settles, posture follows.
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Anthony Goldsmith
Try this exercise: Lie on your back on the floor with your legs extended. Lift your arms overhead and interlace your fingers, then on an exhale, press your lower back into the floor and simultaneously lift your legs and arms off the ground, creating a full body float. Hold for 3–5 seconds, breathing deep into your belly, then slowly lower. Next, add a gentle twist, as you lift, rotate your legs to the right and arms to the left, then switch sides, like a full-body untwist. This is not just a core exercise, it lights up the nervous system, stretches and releases the psoas dynamically, opens the chest, and reconnects spinal and hip alignment in one smooth movement.
