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I’ve been thinking more about posture lately because I noticed that I have some funny tendencies that I undertake when I start to get tired and lazy.

For one, I will sometimes let my head and neck fall forward (forward head posture), I will lean my whole upper body to one side, or I will slouch and round my back. I’ve noticed this several times recently in windows or mirrors and it bothered me so I want to try to fix those bad habits as early as I can before they develop into problems.

Readers of mine will also know that I’m typically not a big fan of solutions that just tell you to hold your head in a better position or remember to keep certain muscles engaged. Obviously, this is something we have to actively do, but I try to find things that will help us achieve our goals without thinking about them too much.

So here are some of the things I do in my regular life to maintain good posture. 

High Desk

A couple years ago, a standup desk was gifted to me and it has become a staple in my bedroom/workspace area. I don’t always use it for the purpose of working but even just having a higher surface to work off of is very nice to have.

I’m about 5’11’’/6’0’’ tall and I find that most desks, tables, and counters are too low. Whether I’m at work or cutting vegetables at home for dinner, it’s very bothersome to be hunched over a low counter for long periods of time knowing this is negatively affecting my posture and body’s alignment.

One of my solutions has been incorporating an adjustable standup desk into my lifestyle. Not only this, but I was also able to get a high table for my kitchen recently which has made food prep nicer for me too.

So instead of sitting down at a chair and a low desk like usual, investing in a standup desk or a high table might be worthwhile for your long term health.

Or, you can make your own if you’d like. This is what I did at first.

I had a shoe box and a couple books stacked on top of a book shelf that I used to type some of my articles on and it worked for the time being.

If nothing else, use the elevated surface as just another option to switch to from time to time. I’m not religious about any one position, I actually like to switch around quite often. Especially because most of my days are spent standing a lot already, this is just another tool in the toolkit to consider.

Avoid Soft Furniture

On the topic of furniture, I’ve realized it’s important to minimize how often you use soft furniture if you care about your posture. When I say soft, I’m talking about those couches and chairs that are so densely cushioned that they basically swallow you up when you sit down on them.

This seems to be a running theme, as I obviously talk about the detriments of wearing overly-cushioned shoes as well.

Cushioning is something that in most cases, should be kept at a minimum. What it does is encourage very poor positioning. Sinking into a couch that feels like a cloud is going to force you to slouch because it requires none of your muscles to be activated.

What this does is make your body go limp and then tighten up after a while from the position you’re been sitting in. The hips and upper leg muscles tend to get very tight because they are not being used, the back gets rounded, and the neck and head slants forward.

Keep your furniture firm so you are incentivized to sit in a more natural, engaged position. 

Floor Sitting

Transitioning out of furniture, I’m going to discuss floor sitting.

Going back to the extreme basics of using the ground you have as your furniture is very powerful. The reason why is because it doesn’t really allow you to get lazy.

Furniture is comfortable and allows us to sit or lay in a position for hours. The ground is usually too firm for us to want to do that so we have to move around often to readjust. This is a very good thing as it keeps us more active and makes us entertain more positions overall.

Even though you technically can entertain some poor positions on the floor too, it still requires you to activate more muscle groups to stabilize yourself. In particular, the core, back, and hips tend to stay more active when on the floor which will keep them strong and stable.

The more you engage large muscle groups like this, the easier of a time you will have maintaining good posture naturally, instead of always having to remind yourself to straighten up your back or pull your head back. 

Minimalist Shoes

Footwear plays a surprisingly big role in the posture we hold. Well, maybe it isn’t a surprise to you. Once you learn about the detrimental structure of traditional footwear, you may not be surprised in the least that they affect our posture.

One major problem is the heel elevation that nearly every pair of shoes is built with. Your heel will sit an average of 4-6mm higher than the ball of your foot while you are standing in shoes. This is a major issue over the course of time because it trains the rest of your body to compensate for that change as if it’s part of your body’s structure.

I’ve gone over this repeatedly, especially when it comes to the lower legs. For now, we are more worried about the unnatural pelvic tilt that will take place to make up for that slant caused by the shoe.

Traditional footwear is known to contribute to forward pelvic tilt, which can lead to lots of back pain and a very unflattering posture.

This is where minimalist shoes come in to remove the heel elevation from under your feet.

A pair of shoes like the Hana from Xero Shoes will have zero heel elevation to allow your feet to be flat on the ground like they’re supposed to be. After some time wearing these, you may start to notice that your posture slowly starts to correct itself from the ground up. 

Driver’s Seat Headrest

This is more of an experimental one, but I’ve found it to have some effect in my life. About a year ago, I noticed I had started doing a lot of driving.

Although I wasn’t upset about the driving itself, I didn’t like how my seat forced me into the exact same position every single time I drove and was making me feel stiffer. After experimenting with pushing the seat forward and back, or tilting the back of the seat forward and back, I tried something else.

I considered removing the headrest, but then I just decided to turn it around. The reason I did this is because I noticed it is slanted forward in almost every car I’ve been in (including my own).

So I turned mine around and after comparing how my head felt before and after, I realized my head actually couldn’t go very far back beforehand. It was being stopped by the headrest being slanted forward.

Because I am concerned about developing forward head posture, I’ve turned it around and left it there. This is just something that I thought of before and remembered while I was writing this, but it has helped me maintain a better head posture, even in less than ideal circumstances like sitting in a car.