❓How many times have you been told ‘not to slouch’, that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ or that ‘it’s all because of your bad posture’?
❗Contrary to this, there is very little to no evidence for ‘perfect’ posture! So, given scientific evidence and what I have experienced with my clients as a healthcare practitioner, what can we say about posture?
😲 There is no one inherently bad posture. We all vary in how our spine is curved and our shoulders align. Variability is a good thing and the same can be said about sitting and standing posture. Try and change how you sit or stand frequently – yes, you are officially allowed to be one of those fidgeters in the classroom, at meetings and online. Try different ways of sitting and standing. Test out what might work for you and don’t worry what that might look like.
👣Adapt your environment to enable frequent change of position. Standing desks are great and so are Swiss balls. If you are stuck in one spot for a lot of the day, try drinking more so you have to make your way to the bathroom more often.
⏰ External reminders can be great too if you tend to get stuck in one position because you are focused. Smartphones or smart watches allow you to set an alert for not having moved for a particular period of time.
🐣Don’t have a smart watch or can’t have your phone nearby? The old fashion way will do, too. For example, you could have an egg timer at your workstation.
💪So next time you feel a niggle in your back, shoulders or neck, try moving more frequently and differently, testing out what feels good and reassess. If your pain persists, see a professional, but please call them out if they tell you that your posture is not perfect.
🎯If you are keen to learn more about this or other topics related to brain and body health, follow me or subscribe to the blogpost. To work with me one-on-one to apply some of these principles to your own life and movement, message me for a free call. I look forward to hearing from you.
More resources (no paid partnerships or sponsorship)
Limber
“Your best posture is your next posture”
❓Know of any other good accessible resources?
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References (for the extra keen)
Davis et al. (2009)
Slater et al. (2019)