Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Any tips on diy posture practice? Standing sitting walking or otherwise.

Straighten your back and neck, don't hunch forward at the shoulders, pull your shoulders down and back so the chest area can move slightly up and out...

I walk from the hips not the shoulders, allows for a natural sway to my walk without seeming forced or fake. Arms swing loose and relaxed.

Sitting - I know it's a cultural thing but I like crossing my legs when I sit or crossing at the ankles.

Highly recommend watching how women walk, stand, sit and try to mirror them. Best to learn from those who have been doing it all their lives. :)

Thank you. This helps a lot . :3

I find just walking around in heals almost forces you to correct your posture. I also do a lot of stretching to, loosen myself up a little.

Yeah, those are good tips. I'm just getting into posture and have found it helps, got to maintain it however...

Posture is a habit. Habits are hard to make (or break) especially when they are low key and constant - like posture. some people have found success with external cuing. There are apps that can give you a tone at random intervals that only you know what they mean. When you hear the tone you are prompted to refresh your posture. There are also people who choose specific activities (typing, talking on the phone) as prompts and others use little sticky notes. See what works for you and good luck sweetie.

Great tip, thank you.  I have good posture currently, it just needs to be adjusted slightly, I'll be sure to give that a look...

Some really great "poise" videos on YouTube.. "How to act more feminine", etc... Do a search and you'll find many .. Good luck!

I need to stand up better with my shoulders back more. My profile pictures look terrible. As my B cup breasts grow it's even more important. Thanks for the reminder

Here's something's on posture that I've found:

GOOD POSTURE
HEAD UP
CHIN LEVEL WITH FLOOR
CHEST UP
SHOULDERS RELAXED

Dress Your Best
Dress your best to always give yourself confidence that you already look great. There is a psychological effect that takes place. Your body responds to your thoughts and projects how you feel.

Study the Way
that You Walk
There is a misconception that girls think they have to strut like a model for a beautiful walk. Get rid of the supermodel walk. It is reserved for very few occasions, definitely not in your everyday walk.

For graceful posture, imagine a string in the middle of your chest putting upwards (gently) without overarching your back.

About half a century ago, girls were taught how to walk. These lessons existed in schools, not specialty or finishing schools, but everywhere. I wonder why it is not longer a requirement to learn how to walk. Learning to walk is important. It teaches us how to breathe, sit and use our bodies ergonomically. It is for good health, helps our self confidence and esteem. It definitely projects elegance.

Keep Your Arms To Your Sides
Another tip of how to develop poise is to keep your arms close to your sides as much as you can, in a relaxed way. When I took posture lessons, my instructor told us to constrict movements from your elbows as much as possible. Obviously don't stick your arms like glue to your slides. If your shoulders are hunched upwards, that's too close.

Never Ever Rush Or Be In A Hurry
To be poised to never seem like you're in a hurry, no matter what calls for it. Never walk too quickly, strut making loud sounds of your heels clicking against the boardwalk. Do not eat in a hurry, no matter how hungry or zip up your purse in a fast way. Be as quiet as possible and unhurried. No slamming of car doors, house doors, fridge door.
Obviously, this is harder than it looks especially in the fast paced society that we live in. If you find yourself hurrying everywhere, it is either due to poor time management or you could be simply doing too much. Slow down, select (root word of elegance is select) - elegance is afterall, a way of life.

Be Gentle
There is a certain kind of chic gentleness in being poised. Gentle and elegant gestures increases our beauty. Clothes are not the only 'covering' we wear.
It is much easier to be gentle when you are kind and tender. Gentle is an all emcompassing word. If you're gentle to little animals, you'll be gentle towards someone's feelings. You'll also probably not slam things around.

Smile Much,
Laugh Softly

Similarly as gentleness is concurrent with devloping poise, being poised means having a gentle smile (ready and often) as well as soft harmonious laughter. Knee-slapping, hand-clapping, back slapping or laughter with mouth wide open does not contribute to poise. Laughing very loudly especially in a restaurant is not acceptable as well.

Watch Your Hands - Do Not Touch
Or Fidget
Some of us have problems keeping our hands to ourselves. The problem of fidgety hands and wanting to touch everything, do something with our hands could be attributed to the problem of being 'unable to relax'. If you want to develop poise, train yourself to keep them relaxed and do yourself.
Don't be digging into your purse, looking at your iphone every 30 seconds, touching your face, hair. It is good to practice restraint. See also Elegant Gestures.

Have A Deep Respect Of Others and Things Around You
I've observed that women with elegant poise seem to have a deep respect of others and things around them. For instance, they tend to leave a place the way it was when they entered. They are not ones to touch things in another person's house. If they borrowed something, it would be in the exact condition (or better sometimes) when they received it.
They'll never be one of those that leave the hotel rooms in a complete mess just because they don't have to clean up. They won't drive a rented a car in a way they won't drive their own. You'll never catch them saying, "who cares? It is rented."  

How can I correct my posture about walking correctly if I walk flat footed

does posture apply to us non binarys? lol

A proper Posture and walking are easier said than done, and require dedication. There are many good tips posted so far.
I myself suffer from lack of discipline,  but try and force myself to walk better every day, when I remember... "maby I should search for one of those apps..."

Get yourself a tall mirror, hang or put it against a wall in your longest room (you're going to need a good amount of runway so you can walk towards the mirror), walk towards it, go back and repeat, a hundred times or more if you have to (actually heels were mentioned, try it if you have any), keep doing until you look right (what you want is to mimic the average woman, not runway model, nor the girl with the bad posture), then do some more until it feels natural. Hips first, shoulders straight, relax.

Remember how you practiced with the mirror, now try it outside (when you feel ready), take a walk just anywhere, constantly mentally check yourself (but don't look like you are) when walking that it feels as it had when you'd done it in privacy, if you aren't getting any strange looks then you may just have it, remember it, eventually you won't have to think about it, you'll just walk that way automatically.

I'm a very fast walker, but also have long legs, so long strides as well (like a giraffe), but I think I walk feminine enough for a woman in a hurry. My posture when standing and walking is actually pretty good (I used to hunch a lot in my teens), but trying to fix how I sit when at my desk because I tend to lean on it too heavily, bad for the elbows, neck and back.

Not all cis-women have good posture, but obviously you don't want to be one of them. They can get away with however they stand, walk or sit with no question to their gender, you (and I) on the other hand, lazy posture or walking like an upright gorilla can lead to questioning stares regarding your gender, unless you so happened to look so convincingly cis-female that you simply appear to be a tough girl, maybe even mistaken as butch, but that kind of image only works with the right clothes too (as well as attitude, hair style, whatnot), not a fancy dress with heels or such.

Quote from: Vampire Brianna Terryal Onyx on June 08, 2014, 12:32:32 AM
does posture apply to us non binarys? lol

I was reading this thread and I kinda got nervous about my posture then I read this and I was like "lol screw it I do what I want"

The one thing I notice is that people not used to long hair move really weirdly. I don't know exactly how to explain it but I can basically instantly spot a woman who has only worn a wig for a week versus one who has done so for years. I get this exact same vibe from transwomen who seem new to longer hair.

Your hair is normal, treat it as such, just pay attention to the way women deal with tasks where hair can get in the way.

Buy a Squeem.  Seriously, this thing won't allow you to have bad posture when you wear it and it will help change your natural posture.  I used to slouch all over the place, but those days are in the past now! 

Bonus: It's a waist-cincher so you will notice a little more curves even when you don't wear it!