Standing
Posture is mostly a matter of stacking. Stand with your weight spread evenly across both feet, about hip-width apart, and with your knees straight but not locked. Bring your ribcage directly over your hips instead of letting the belly drift forward and the upper back lean behind it. Let the shoulders drop, then draw the shoulder blades slightly back and down. Your ears should sit over your shoulders. The old cue of a string lifting the crown of your head works well, because it lengthens the neck without tipping the chin up. Forcing a military brace overcorrects, looks tense and cannot be held for ten minutes.
Sitting at a desk
- Sit with your hips all the way back in the chair and your feet flat on the floor, with your knees at about hip height.
- Raise the screen so that its top edge is at or just below eye level, about an arm's length away.
- Keep your elbows near your sides and bent to roughly ninety degrees, with your wrists straight.
- Lift your phone toward eye level instead of dropping your head to meet it.
No seated position is good for three hours. Stand up, walk or stretch for a minute or two every half hour, since the best posture is the next one.
Build the muscles that hold it
Slouching is often a matter of strength, because a weak upper back and tight chest pull the shoulders forward. Twice a week, do three sets of ten to fifteen rows or band pull-aparts. Stretch the chest daily by placing a forearm against a door frame and turning gently away for thirty seconds on each side. Add ten slow chin tucks, drawing the head straight back as if making a double chin, to counter a forward head. Expect to notice a difference in six to eight weeks, not six days.
How it reads in a room
Walk with your eyes on the horizon and your hands out of your pockets, at an unhurried pace. When you stop, be still. Shifting from foot to foot, touching your face and folding your arms across your chest all signal unease. Take up the space your body naturally occupies, neither collapsed inward nor puffed out, and sit back in a chair instead of perching on its edge.
Note Posture cues will not fix back or neck pain that persists for weeks, or any numbness, tingling or weakness in an arm or a leg. See a doctor or a physical therapist for those.
