The Secret to Correct Seating Posture…

One of the main subjects I’ve been advising patients on these past few months is correct seating posture. Lockdown and working from home has resulted in many more hours spent sitting. Something that the body is NOT designed to do for long periods. Whether you are sitting at a home workstation or just sitting at home on the sofa, here are a few tips to help you sit better.

What is a correct seating posture?

What does correct seating posture look like to you? One of the first things I find people tend to do is focus on pulling back their shoulders and wedging a pillow behind their backs to lean back on. This may help temporarily but the reality is that until you correct the position of your pelvis you could just be fighting against your body which is usually the reason many find it exhausting to keep pulling back their shoulder.

The secret…

So what’s the secret? A good seated posture actually starts with correct pelvis position. I usually ask my patient to imagine they have a long dinosaur tail as an extension of their tailbone.

Imagine this tail draws your pelvis backwards and down to the ground.  When you sit, you want to make sure that tail you are visualising is out behind you and NOT tucked under. By sitting this way you encourage your shoulders to naturally sit further back as you are more upright.

Once your pelvis is positioned this way, you can bring your focus to the following:

• Both feet on ground: Make sure the soles of both your feet are placed firmly on the floor.
• Back supported: Make sure your back is supported by the back of your seat
• Shoulders back: As you sit make sure your chest area is kept open with both shoulders in line with your hips.
• Raise chin/eye focus: If you are watching tv/on your laptop, iPad, phone, book etc make sure your chin is parallel with the ground. This may mean lifting your eye line by raising whatever you are looking at to a higher level. 

 

Now you know the secret, I invite you to start bringing your awareness to how you are sitting at home or at work. What is your pelvis doing? Is your tail out or tucked? How can you improve this? It’s by making a small change and shifting our habits that we can create a healthier body longterm. By sitting correctly you protect not just your lower back but your whole spine and you help the bloody flow to the organs in the abdominal cavity and even encourage better breathing habits. 

If you would like more help regarding your posture or have back pain which is aggravated by sitting, book a treatment with one of The Backbone Osteopaths who can help advise and treat you. To book an appointment please click here…