Standing...No laughing matter...

In 1998, reviewing the Ballet Stretches on the Ladder Barrel during my Romana Kryzanowska Teacher Certification program, Juantita Lopez said, “To do the Ballet Stretches, you need to be able to stand.”

I laughed. 

Of course, I can stand.

But this was no laughing matter to her. She was dead serious.

Now, after 25 years, I finally understand what she meant.

When you stand, do you . . . 

• Hyperextend your knees?
  
• Stick your bum out tipping your ASIS forward? or
   
  • Clench your bum under + shove it forward?
    
• Turn your feet out in a “V”?
   
  • Turn 1 foot out + 1 foot straight?
    
• Pigeon toe your toes?
   
  • One foot more than the other?
    
• Can you align your rib cage over your pelvis?
   
  • Is your manubriosternal joint aligned with the pubic symphysis? MS aligned with PS?
    
• Is your head pushed forward instead of centered on your neck?
  
• Is your weight centered over the bow of your shoelaces?
  
• Is one foot more forward than the other?
  
• Is your medial arch pitched up or can it relax into the ground? or
   
  • Is your medial arch flattened like a pancake to the floor?
    
• Does the back of your heel tip in or out?
  
• Do your toes grip?
  
• Is your weight evenly distributed . . .
   
  • All 4 corners of each foot: big toe knuckle, pinkie toe knuckle, inner + outer heels?
     
    • Or do you stand on the outer or inner borders of your feet?
      
• Do you stand on each leg equally?
   
  • On the forefoot + rearfoot equally?
    
• Does your big toe hit the ground when you stand? When you walk?
  
• Do you have bunions?
  
• Do you have pain?
  
• Are your shoes worn down on the outer heels? Inner heels?