Are you reading this blog on your phone, laptop, or desktop? Before we get started, I want you to analyze your posture. Don’t cheat by correcting your posture before you start analyzing. Ask yourself, “am I slouching forward, am I leaning to one side more than the other, am I crossing my legs or am I looking down?” If you are then we have some corrections to do.

Since the pandemic, most people have started to work from home and have not been keeping up with maintaining good posture.  Let’s go through my check list to see how a proper form posture should look like.

  1. Legs:

Ask yourself, “what are my legs/feet doing?” The correct answer shoulder be, ‘feet should be flat on the floor.’ Crossing the legs at the ankles or knees may be a natural thing to do while sitting, but you are causing more harm than good by doing so. You create more pressure in the pelvis and cause strain in the surrounding muscles, therefore, always keep the feet flat on the floor.

  1. Hips/Pelvis:

The common position people prefer while sitting for extended periods of time is leaning onto one side compared to the other. Let’s switch this up by sitting up with a neutral pelvis. This will also allow your low back to be straight with appropriate support.

  1. Shoulders:

A common position that I see when people are sitting are shoulders inclined in a forward position. Keeping your shoulders in this position for hours will cause tension in the neck and possibly headaches as well. When sitting, shoulders should pushed be toward the ears and not tense to allow your muscles to relax. This position will allow you to sit in an upright position. Sitting this position can assist you will not only maintaining proper posture but also with decreasing body pain

  1. Head:

Your head is the top portion of your body and a top priority with posture. It should be leveled in a natural resting position. Avoid looking down (staring a phone, laptop, etc) for prolonged periods as this will put pressure on your neck and upper trapezius muscle. Correcting this is simple, when you correct the other body parts your head will naturally be leveled.

For people that sit for an extended period of time; I recommend setting a timer for 45 minutes. Once that alarm goes off, analyze your posture,  make corrections, and reset. After assessing your posture, consider taking a standing break to avoid tightening your hip flexor muscles.

Still have questions regarding my posture? Be sure to schedule an appointment and we can review this assessment together.