11 Practical Tips for Improving Your Posture

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Remember when your parents told you all the time to sit with your back straight and not slouch? The correct posture is not only for the looks but for your health and well-being, too. Improving your posture will affect your breathing, your physical, emotional, and mental health, as well.

Top 11 Practical Tips for Improving Your Posture

Since it matters so much, I will give you eleven essential tips for improving your posture without too much effort, but with a little bit of attention, awareness, and goodwill.

Pull your shoulders back, and let’s start improving our posture together right now.

1. Check Your Posture Every Hour

Set up a time in which you aim to adjust, fix, and correct your posture. Let’s say three months. During this period, set up an awareness alarm on your smartwatch or mobile phone – like a short beep, chirp, chime, or bell sound – to make you check and correct your position every one hour or so. This way, you will become more and more aware of your physical body and posture, and you’ll be able to adjust it to the correct alignment.

2. Take 1 Minute to Adjust Your Posture in Every New Situation

Develop the habit of checking your posture each time you change your position in place or move from here to there.

For Example:

  • First, you wake up and sit up on the edge of your bed – take a moment to check your posture.
  • Second, you brush your teeth – take a moment to acknowledge your body posture and adjust it to the right position.
  • Then, you cook your breakfast – take a moment to check your posture and adjust it.
  • Next, you sit down at the table to eat – take a moment, right when you sit down and before you start eating – to check your posture and correct it.
  • Then, you drive – check your posture.
  • When you start working at your desk – check your posture first.
  • Later you’ll sit in a chair at the project meeting at work – check your posture the moment you sit down.
  • Next, you walk in the park – check the posture while you walk.
  • Lastly, you go to bed at night – first, check your posture while laying back and adjust it.

3. Savvy Apps Keep an Eye on Your Posture

Are you a tech freak? Then know that several apps can keep an eye on your posture and announce you to adjust it when they notice a slouching or an incorrect position of your body – excited about it?

Then waste no more time, download those apps, play with them, get excited – all while getting corrected through your phone for a better posture.

4. Invest in a Good Mattress and Pillow That Will Improve Your Spine’s Posture and Health

The posture during our sleep – and be aware that you sleep for several hours in the same position, typically 6 to 9 hours in the same position – depends on the type of mattress and pillow you sit on. Invest in a high-grade quality mattress – it’s the place where you spend most of your lifetime, actually – it’s better to be hard to keep your spine straight and avoid soft mattresses that make your body sink in when you lay on them – they are the worst for your back and your health.

5. Move it, Move it

Our bodies are designed to move a lot. So standing for hours at your desk, without even moving a muscle is not suitable for your brain, heart, lungs, muscles, spine, and so on. Your muscles need movement to pump the blood mainly to the heart and brain (and to all the organs) and keep the blood and lymph circulation going in the body.

So, remember the alarm that will remind you every hour to check your stance. Well, you will also use the moment to stand up and do some movements with your hands, legs, head, torso, and pelvis to get the things moving inside of you. Do stretches if you want to, open your chest, bend your back, push your hips, pull your hands up, and so on.

You will get more oxygen into your brain, this means, you’ll be smarter, focus better, and be more productive, and you will also improve your posture, relax important muscles that hold your posture straight, and get the blood flow freely.

Here are a couple of simple moves that you practice quickly every hour to improve your posture and relax:

  • Roll your shoulders towards your back
  • Pull your shoulders up, one at a time and then both at the same time
  • Pull your elbows back
  • Rotate your arms towards the back and then, towards the front
  • Bend down, trying to touch your toes, stop there for 10 seconds and stretch your spine

6. Learn to Breathe

Nobody taught you how to breathe when you were born. Your intelligent body knows how to do it without your conscious help. Well, when you have problems with your posture, it’s time to become aware of your breathing pattern and re-learn how to breathe correctly.

Because our posture affects our breathing, and your breathing affects your posture. The more you slouch, the shallower your breathing becomes. That is why, when you correct your breathing, your posture improves as well.

Learn simple breathing exercises, using your diaphragm and abdomen to breathe deeply and healthily, straighten, and strengthen your spine, waist muscles, lower core, and lower back muscles.

There are simple breathing exercises that you can do to improve your postures, and one of them is to be attentive to breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth, filling your lungs, down to your belly, until the diaphragm reaches the maximum and the belly gets full.

First exercise this for a couple of minutes in the morning, to get the hang of it, and then try to be aware of the way you breathe, as often as you can throughout the day. This type of slow, deep, complete breathing will not only improve your posture, but it will also bring more oxygen into your bloodstream (to the heart and brain), will strengthen your immune system, reduce stress, and help you relax.

Tip: use the alarm that you set up every hour to check your posture, and take the opportunity to check your breathing pattern, too, and correct it, if necessary.

7. Level Your Computer

One of the factors of your bad posture is the height of your desk and the level at which your monitor sits compared to your eyes level. If your desk is lower, your head will always be tilted down in an uncomfortable position, triggering neck pain, headaches, and slouching.

That is why, of the best things you can do to improve your posture at your workplace (where you spend at least 8 hours a day – which is a long time) is to place the monitor of your computer at the same level with your eyes. This placement will allow you always to keep your spine and head straight all day long, while you do your computer work. Also, the desk should be at the proper level so that your elbows and wrists make a 90 degrees angle when sitting on it.

8. Posture props

To correct your posture, you can use position props such as seat wedges and pillows for lumbar support, special sports bras, and posture-improving shirts. They are not expensive and can help you a lot, mainly if your work implies sitting on a chair for hours.

9. Peak Your Ears

Well, I’m not asking you to pull a Lord of Ring’s Elf look or wear cute, fluffy, pinkish Playboy bunny ears – they won’t magically help with your bad posture. I’m just merely suggesting this tip: to make sure you have your ears aligned vertically with your shoulders when you’re sitting at your desk. It might seem like a small tip, but it’s a vast improvement in your condition, especially if you suffer from cervical pain due to your neck tilting over your computer all day long.

10. Do Wall Angels

I know you love doing snow angels during winter. So, how about making an angel moves against a wall that will prove heavenly for your back and posture?

Lean against a wall, sitting on the floor or standing, making sure you have your back as close to the wall as possible (buttocks, lower back, upper body, and shoulders).

Now, stretch your arms along the wall upwards above your head, as high as you can, then pull them back until you make a 90 degrees angle between your lower and upper arm, or until your elbows are on the same level as your shoulders. Then stretch your arms upwards again. Do so 10-15 times, slowly.

11. Ask for Help from a Professional Chiropractor, Gym Trainer, or Physical Therapist

A professional chiropractor, gym trainer, or physical therapist will help you better and faster to improve your posture with a science-based approach. They can pinpoint your weak points in your posture and can give you adequate advice. They’ll also offer practical exercises to help you with your back, neck, or shoulder pain, and correct your posture.

Maintain Your Posture For Your Health

Your posture is such an essential building block to your overall health and well-being. Remember to practice these useful tips regularly, and your body will thank you in the long run.