Remember your mother always telling you to stand up straight? Then you’d quickly push your back into an awkward, over-aligned position that ended up looking completely bizarre and feeling even stranger.
It’s time to start thinking about improving your posture, but this time we have a few tips on maintaining good habits that won’t have you getting strange looks from coworkers.
Take Time to Reflect
- Instead of staring out your office window, use it as a mirror to check out your posture. Figure out what’s keeping you out of line. Slouched shoulders, hips to the side, or bent back? Let the mirror be your guide.
Start From the Bottom
- Good posture begins with your feet. They should be relatively shoulder length apart. Next, align your hips and keep your shoulders squared to create a straight line from head-to-toe.
Teach and Repeat
- Instead of running to get coffee during breaks, try teaching your body what it feels like to stand tall. Position your body against the wall, with just your shoulders, head and butt touching it. It will feel awkward at first, but practice makes perfect! And soon it will feel strange not standing that way.
Stick With It
- Since we can’t bring our mothers with us to the office (usually), place post-it notes or stickers around your workspace to remind you to keep your posture in check. You can be as harsh or as gentle as you like, just as long as it gets you to stand up straight.
Get in Your Head
- Of course it’s important to continue to sit up straight while sitting, but don’t forget to adjust the head rest! Your back may be aligned, but it’s not doing any good if you’re straining the neck. The head rest should be placed so the middle of your head rests against it, not beneath the neck or placed too high.
Did you practice these steps? What did you think?
