Posture Letter 3 - Standing Like a Lady

Let’s get started girls!

Take your seats please...oh well done all of you. That was a sneaky little test on my part to see how much of the last lesson you’d taken on board and I can see a number of uncoordinated ducklings have already started to blossom into gorgeous, graceful swans (and to those of you I just saw shuffle into a more feminine posture, you need to practice more sweethearts 😉).

I was going to save this for the last lesson, but I honestly can’t contain myself any further! I have been absolutely BOWLED OVER and OVERWHELMED by the support and kind words that I’ve received following the first two lessons. Miss Frida had to ask me why I was crying at my desk this morning, I was just so happy!

I’m a big believer in the Academy community and this kind of thing is exactly why.

So let’s get started, shall we? The last lesson was a long one and this one will be a bit shorter.

From now on, when you’re taking part in one of my lessons I expect you to assume an appropriate posture. An erect bearing, ankles crossed and legs together. It’s a sign of respect to the Academy and your studies.

Also, no fidgeting. You can switch your posture every few minutes if you wish but don’t squirm around so much that you distract the other girls.

Everyone ready? Good, let's move on to today’s lesson.

Standing

Standing was the secondary focus of my deportment course, I wondered why I was being drilled in these postures and working on my standing stamina if I would be sitting at a desk for most of the day. I couldn’t ask, subjects on the deportment course are gagged (why waste an opportunity for training? My mouth wouldn’t have been doing anything useful anyway).

It all became clear when my predecessor, Sarina, officially handed over the role of Miss Frida’s PA and ran me through my induction. Etiquette between the junior (secretaries, administrators) and senior members of staff (Trainers, Researchers) is very important at the Academy. If my boss, Miss Frida, enters the room I stand up and assume a specific posture of respect and deference. If another Trainer enters, the posture is different. Likewise, if any Researchers or Head Mistress or any Guests arrive there is a posture for each of them (Guests are always treated as senior staff).

Allowances are made if I’m in the middle of a phone call, but if it ends and they are still present, I will apologize and assume the position.

I’m also proficient in curtseying, that won’t be relevant in this course I just like to boast every now and then! 😉

So then, first video! It’s a long one so feel free to shift your posture now and, if you feel the need to do so once or twice whilst watching, that’s ok.

Finished? Excellent work! One gold star for everyone 🌟!

This brings up another topic

Heels

Heels will be covered in the next lesson 😛. If you’re comfortable with them then, by all means, wear them for standing practice, but if not then there’s no need to use them here.

Let’s break things up a bit now. Everybody stand up (another star 🌟 if you did it in the correct manner) and find some space. Now play the video again and follow along. If you have a full-length mirror, you can use it here to see yourself from a different perspective.

Try and get to grips with the pose, when you get it right it shouldn’t feel especially uncomfortable or too awkward, just a little unfamiliar.

I said in the first lesson that I just adore her accent, so hold the posture (quick, fidgeting yes or no?) and watch Ms. Carey explain the posture and add a few finishing points here.

You may have realized it already, but this is the posture you briefly came across yesterday, it all fits together!

Ok, now take your seats (deduct a star 🌟 if you didn’t sit down correctly, you really should be on top of this by now!). Like sitting, there are different postures for standing that you will want to apply in different situations.

Watch this video (it’s a short one this time, no posture change). Now boys tend to clasp their hands lower down in what’s known as the ‘fig leaf’ position (*sigh* yes girls, giggle away 😉) and this is the female equivalent. The thing is, despite what the presenter says this is a pose you want! What does she say the pose does? Make you sway, tilt your head, uptalk and get all girlish. Oh yes, you definitely need this one in your repertoire!

Ok girls, I said it was going to be a shorter one today and here we are. Stand up and stretch your legs (sorry, last one today girls! Award yourself a star or deduct two stars accordingly, if you don’t know why this is, then deduct 2 more stars).

Homework

This is your regular reminder of the file by Vive (download). Give this one (download) a listen as well, it’s short and there’s never a bad time to work on your mindset! As always, if you’re uncomfortable with hypnosis, listening is optional (to the hypnosis, listening to me is mandatory!).

For those of you who ended up with a negative number of stars from this lesson (or who thought I was just trying to motivate you all and they didn’t mean anything 😝) go back and re-read the letter on sitting and practice the routine for 15 minutes.

For everyone, first up find some more postures. I would recommend YouTube for this, especially videos with girls or photographers giving tips on poses.

Once you have at least another two that you like, use them and the two covered in the lesson and (say it with me girls) practice. Find the pose, by which I mean strike it and then make subtle movements until it feels right for you. Everyone’s balance and center of gravity is different.

Once you’ve found it, work on holding it. Standing poses should be something you can hold for lengthy periods with minimal shuffling.

Part 2 is to go outside. Look at women standing in different situations, look at men standing in different situations. Notice the differences. What do their poses tell you, do they look powerful and dominant? Do they look submissive? Can you tell their relationships with each other? Partners, friends, family?

Try and work the poses into your day to day life. Some of the ultra-girly ones may need to be saved for special occasions but I doubt if many of you need to project a masculine aura on a regular basis, so the hesitation posture is a good one to start with.

Finally, we’ll have a quick look at bending down to pick things up. There will be times when bending at the waist is a more appropriate choice (I’ll leave the specifics to your imagination) but once you’re comfortable with your standing poses practice picking things up from the ground and start to use this technique in your day to day life. The picture below shows you the basic post, keep your back straight and bend from the knees and keep your head up.

This is not only graceful, it helps to protect your back from injury. Try it with and without heels, the balance can be challenging to begin with but you’ll pick it up after a few tries!

Each of you definitely deserves a hug 🤗 and a kiss 😘 for your efforts today, you’ve worked really hard! Now go and do your homework and have some fun and I’ll speak with you again in 3 days time.