By Liz Reid

With the party season fast approaching, that sparkling Christmas outfit you’ve been longing to
wear or snazzy shirt, paired perhaps with a dressy pair of heels are calling! What joy it is to be
able to wear something special this year and go to events. Huzzah!

It is important to maintain a good posture when wearing heels, especially as the festivities so
often involves music and a bit of grooving! Now, heeled shoes don’t necessarily have to be high.
Some boots and flat shoes have a stacked heel, which you need to be aware of. When wearing
any shoe with a heel of even a centimetre or more, give proper consideration to walking well,
without over-arching your lower back. The higher the heel, the harder you have to work and
concentrate on making corrective adjustments.

When you walk barefoot, your heel contacts the ground first, the weight rolls through to the ball
of the foot and then you mainly push off from your big toe. As soon as you wear shoes with even
a small heel, it is not as easy to walk correctly. The feet are elevated by heels and your body
weight shifts forwards, causing the pelvis to tilt forwards too with the lower back arch
exaggerated and extended. All this happens to compensate for wearing heels and maintain
balance. Most of the bodyweight transfers to the balls of your feet and your stride length
reduces significantly, making you take smaller and more steps.

Excessive time in elevated heels puts strain on your back muscles, particularly the Lumbar
ones, leaving you with an achy back, painful feet and tired leg muscles. So, to help manage
walking in heeled shoes, consciously walk with your pelvis tilted towards your head, tucking
your tailbone UNDER. Squeeze your rear cheeks together to do this! Pull your shoulders back
and down, which opens up your chest without pushing it out allowing you to stand tall, proud
and maximise your height. Try to spread your weight evenly between both feet, keeping them
hip-width apart WITHOUT locking your knees, which only strains and puts high pressure on the
knee joints.

Managing all of this can be rather tricky, especially when you first try to correct your posture in
heels but practice makes perfect. If you plan on wearing a particular pair of heeled shoes for a
special Christmas party night, PRACTICE standing and walking in them. You need to walk tall,
with confidence, your head held upright and balanced well but walk SLOWLY! Don’t rush your
steps.

Try not to jut your head forwards or downwards, nor pull your head back. You need to stack your
head weight evenly upon your shoulders and directly on your spinal column.

With a corrected and mindful posture, it is possible to carry yourself better and feel more relaxed
wearing heels. You should feel more comfortable, enabling you to stand, walk and dance for
longer, allowing you to boogie the night away! When dancing, make sure you keep your dance
moves SLOW and steady, using your thigh muscles and calves to do most of the work. Avoid
fancy or fast turns and steps, which can easily throw you off balance! Move your arms but keep
them relaxed, which helps maintain your balance and elegance. When you strut your stuff, your
upper back muscles fire, so keep your shoulders back and down to ease tension building up in
the Trapezius.

Also, build in regular breaks from dancing, allowing your legs to rest, ease the balls of your feet
and stay hydrated!

Dancing is a wonderful way to exercise and one of the best all-body workouts you can do. It
works the muscles evenly and is a great, effective cardio exercise, as well as fun, releasing our
happy hormones, endorphins. It’s fabulous for toning your leg and your behind muscles, whilst
working your waistline too! Moving your upper body when dancing helps give your oblique
stomach muscles a great workout, so what’s not to love about dancing and letting your hair
down this Christmas?

Try not to wear heeled shoes too often though or for too long a period. It’s a good plan to have a
backup flatter pair of shoes with you to change into when you slide onto the dance floor, so you
don’t end up dancing barefoot this Christmas but ultimately have lots of festive fun and enjoy
every moment with family and friends! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and
healthy New Year!