what does it mean to 'push' on your ribs?

[Skye90]

My teacher keeps giving me this correction...she says that I'm 'pushing on my ribs'. And when she comes to correct me, I don't quite know what she does. I've done some pilates and we worked on ribs there and not letting them pop out when you lift your arms....Do you think she means that I'm puffing them out?? And, how could I correct this problem?

[Victoria Leigh]

Skye, does your teacher have a foreign accent? Surely she must be saying push out, as I have no idea how one would push "on" the ribs.

[Mel Johnson]

Unless, of course, you're collapsing your whole chest. It doesn't sound that way from what you've described.

[Skye90]

No, my teacher doesn't have a foreign accent. Just a normal aussy one....It's something about letting my ribs stick out or something. But, she always uses the frase, " pushing on your ribs." I don't think i'm collapsing my chest. When she corrects me, the difference is so slight that i can't understand it. She watches me for a while and says, " good, you're holding it." And then in the next excersise it goes bad again.

[dancergirl39]

She might mean that you're pushing out on your ribs, like your lungs are expanding so much that they are pushing out on your ribs. Just something I thought of.

[Victoria Leigh]

Ummm, dancergirl, read the posts above. I think that I already said that.

[dancergirl39]

Oh, whoops my mistake!

[Skye90]

I just got back from ballet, and my teacher used the 'don't push on your ribs' thing again. I think that she means I'm letting my ribs just sort of pop out because she explained it today. Thanks for the help...sometimes she uses wierd frases.