Stop Sucking It In: The Belly Positive Post You Need
In my recent “Fuck Flattering Friday” I posted a poll on Instagram. It was asking if you did/ do constantly suck your stomach in. And out of thousands of responses, 86% of people said they have in the past or still do.
I thought it was really telling and something I am recently processing myself. So let’s do this together.
My grandma always told us to suck our stomachs in and stand up straight. I appreciate the “stand up straight” because my posture is pretty great. However, the “suck your stomach in” or “hold your stomach in” or just the subtle belly touch she would give when my stomach was in it’s natural state is bad advice.
Engagement vs Sucking it in
As a barre teacher, a strong core and good posture come in handy. It is worth noting that EVERYONE'S posture will differ slightly but for this post we are saying good posture is the posture that supports your muscles and ligaments, allows you to move through a full range of motion, and prevents common neck and back issues.
A strong core is not the same as a sucked in stomach. A sucked in stomach is really just the act of pulling in the belly using air and holding it in to look slimmer. Have you ever been in a group photo and you could almost feel everyone stop breathing and stand a little straighter? Yeah, that.
Sucking it in was never meant to be an all day thing. Some of the side effects of this can be feeling dizzy, issues with digestion, and disrupted breathing patterns. Long term shallow breathing or chest breathing has been linked to increased anxiety. When you don’t take deep breaths, because you are worried about your stomach expanding and looking bigger, you can also impact the function of your pelvic floor which can cause constipation, incontinence, painful sex, and more.
Core engagement is about recruiting your abdominal muscles and creating a wrapping feeling that helps protect your back and belly. It is not about shrinking so much as it is about tightening. Your core is engaged when your transverse abdominis, the internal and external obliques and the rectus abdominis brace and work together to stabilize your torso and spine. Again, your pelvic floor is also part of this equation but it is working in harmony with the muscles.
Even when we think about engaging our cores, we still need to make time for rest. You cannot engage any muscle constantly and not expect it to STOP working. Think of flexing your biceps constantly....it’s not going to be fun. Constantly engaging without knowing how to relax can lead to some similar issues as sucking it in. These include cramping from tension and pelvic floor dysfunction.
More Issues with sucking it in
Sucking it in is inherently about anti-fatness. Sucking it in is about appearing thinner, leaner, etc. Prioritizing sucking it in for photos and social events is about showcasing your proximity to thinness. If you feel like it makes you “look better” it is because we have all, myself included, been conditioned to equate thinness with beauty and goodness. Also, it is just not very authentic. The people who love you don’t love you because you look so thin in photos, and if they do they are not your people!
So how do you stop doing it?
Practice, practice, practice! Maybe you don’t feel comfortable having your “real stomach” out and free and relaxed all the time. That is ok. You can practice taking big, deep breaths when you wake up or before you go to bed. Let yourself relax right before and after a meal. Also, give yourself time and grace! So many of us have been doing this for YEARS. You are not going to drop this habit in a day.
Want to practice breathing? Check out the gentle movement class I have and try focus on your breath while you move. Interested in working with me? You can join my membership at any time and learn to move your body joyfully!