“Walk as if you’re a bird on a wire.” “Imagine there’s an imaginary string pulling your spine, shoulders, neck and head up together and in perfect alignment.”

We’ve all heard these mantras about great posture—and who, as a little girl, didn’t try walking around with a stack of books on your head just to see if you could achieve perfect form and balance?

With all this advice and preparation, you’d think we’d all be walking tall, instead of leaning on our elbows at our computers, slumping over the wheel of our car and wrenching our necks at least 45 degrees just to hold the phone to our ear for a prolonged chat.

Reality check: poor posture and the pounding on our body parts by uninterrupted task performance is taking its toll—long-term aches and pain, sore muscles and joints, and specifically neck and jaw pain as well as back pain, to mention but a few.

Our body has an excellent memory—when we treat it well, it rewards us with top performance, and it never forgets when we’ve neglected its care, reminding us at the worse possible moments with fatigue, as well as soreness and pain in our joints.

Remember the rewards? The good news is that in less time than it takes to send an email, you can do one of seven simple daytime movements we share with women in our practice that will leave your body happily asking for more and more.


Start by paying attention to your body and your posture—set a timer or send yourself a task reminder to check your posture at least hourly at first. Take a moment and think about sitting up on your “sit bones” (the bony prominences of your pelvis that you sit on). This puts your pelvis in a neutral position, correctly stacking your vertebrae and removing stress on your back’s discs.

Next, inhale and allow your collar bones to rise; exhale and let your shoulder blades fall. Imagine you have a bunch of balloons tied to the crown of your head and lengthen the back of your neck upward without lifting your chin.

Finally, perform a couple of chin tucks by pulling your chin in as though you were making a double chin then relaxing. It’s from this position that you should begin each of the following daytime movements. These movements accomplish two things: they interrupt prolonged positions and reverse the effects these positions have on our bodies over the weeks, months and years. For best results, these daytime movements were designed to be done throughout the day but not all at once. The effect is cumulative and there is virtually no benefit to performing all of the movements at the same time. Ideally, one movement should be done every hour following the posture scan—this ensures that you’ll complete each movement at least once by the end of your day.

The biggest obstacle to overcome when setting out to improve your posture and decrease everyday aches and pains is incorporating these changes into your hectic schedule. Once you integrate posture awareness and mindful relaxation into your day, they will become as important to you as your mid-morning coffee break. So set your digital timer, stopwatch or pop-up reminder on your computer and get through your workday pain-free.

Low Back Curve Reversal
Standing with feet slightly apart, place your hands on your waist, thumbs forward and fingers reaching around your back, and while keeping your knees straight, lean back for two seconds. Repeat this five times.

Wall Reach
Stand with your toes touching a flat wall, reach your arms overhead and move your abdomen toward the wall. Lift your hands off the wall without arching your low back. Repeat five times.

Prayer Position
Stretch Bring your palms together at the center of your chest, fingers pointing skyward as if in a praying position. Raise your arms above your head by straightening your elbows and turn your palms outward so the back of your hands are touching. Then rotate your hands back to palms touching, separating them as you bring your arms down toward your waist, leading with your elbows and making sure you keep your hands in your peripheral vision as you bring them down. Repeat this five times.

Doorway Stretch
Stand in a doorway and hold your arms as if they were a football goalpost. Place your wrists on the doorway and, while keeping your body in a straight line from your head to your pelvis, step through the doorway bending your front knee to advance your trunk as a unit through the door. You should feel a gentle pull across your chest; do not go to the point of pain. Hold for a slow count of 10 and return, repeating with the other knee.

Ironing Board
Stand with your hands on a flat wall at shoulder height. Walk your feet back, tilting your “sit bones” up, and keeping your feet under your hips at all times. Continue to walk back until you have flattened your back at a 90-degree angle to the wall; keep your arms in line with your head and trunk, without tucking your pelvis under. You should feel a gentle pull on the back of your thighs; do not go to the point of pain. Hold for a slow count of 10.

Shoulder Blade Squeeze (with hands behind your bottom)
Interlock your fingers behind your bottom with your elbows straight. Squeeze your shoulder blades together without letting your chest or ribs stick out. Hold for two seconds, and repeat five times.

Shoulder Blade Squeeze (with hands behind your head)
Place your fingers behind your ears with your elbows bent. Squeeze your shoulder blades together without letting your chest or ribs stick out. Hold for two seconds, and repeat five times.

• Forward-leaning head
• Tense shoulders
• Raised or forward-curving shoulders
• Collar bone depression
• Pelvis relaxed backwards

• Sit up on your “sit bones” to bring your pelvis to a neutral, slightly forward position.
• Inhale and let your collar bones rise.
• Exhale, keeping your collar bones lifted, and let your shoulder blades fall.
• Imagine a bunch of balloons tied to the crown of your head, lengthening your neck.
• Perform two to three chin tucks, making a double chin.

About the Authors: Chrissy McCullough, PT, MS, and Nicole sutherland, PT, MS, are physical therapists and co-owners of Watermark Physical Therapy, in Plano, Texas, where bad form is always a great reason to schedule another session.