What Is Good Posture & Why Is It Hard to Hold? A Physio Explains

“Good posture” traditionally means sitting or standing with your back straight, shoulders relaxed but not slouched, head stacked over your spine, and feet flat on the floor. 

We’ve been taught that keeping this “good posture” is the key to avoiding injury, especially if we spend long hours at a desk.

And if we have some sort of pain, the first thing to “fix” is our posture, because there must be something wrong with it. 

Heck, when I went to physical therapy school, the first thing I learnt was good posture = health and perfection, while and bad posture = root of all evil and human suffering. 

But then, why is good posture SO hard?? If it’s “good”, shouldn’t it be easy to do??

In real life, good posture is hard because the human body wasn’t built to stay in one static position for hours. 

Even the textbook definition of good posture will eventually feel like crap if you try to hold it too long. 

And it’s not that you’re broken, on the contrary! Your nervous system is actually doing its job.

Here’s why good posture is so hard to hold

Your brain is constantly scanning your body for signs of discomfort, stiffness, or tension building up. 

These are signs that tell the brain “hey, this area isn’t getting enough blood! We need it to eat some delicious nutrients and to remove the waste that’s piling up.”

So when the brain detects that you’ve been still for too long, it sends little nudges: a fidget, a sigh, a stretch, a craving to move. 

These small movements send blood back to those stiff areas, washing away the cell waste and delivering nutrients. 

That’s why it feels SO good when you stretch or move after sitting for a long time! 

And that’s also why it’s so hard to force “good posture” after a while. 

So if sitting up straight for hours hasn’t helped your back or neck pain, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. 

It means posture alone isn’t the solution YOUR body needs.

How to tell when “good posture” is not so good anymore

Here are a few cues that tell you it’s time to change your posture:

• You feel pressure building in one spot, like the neck, or the lower back.

• You feel stiff, usually with the urge to stretch that area

• You’re feeling restless and fidgety

• You’re holding your breath without realizing

• You’re hyperaware of your posture and it’s hard to focus on what you’re doing

If you’re feeling any of these even when sitting “properly”, it’s not that your body is broken. It’s feedback! 

Your body is asking you to move. Listen to it!

A more useful way to think about posture

Think of posture like eating. 

You don’t eat broccoli all day, right? Yes it’s very healthy and nutritious but you also need other foods to function. 

Replace broccoli with “good posture”.

The traditional “good posture” is a solid starting point for things like setting up your workspace. It’s an easy guide to know your chair height, where to place the keyboard, etc. 

But TBH it’s hell when you’re trying to hold it for 8 hours straight. Just like it’d be hell to eat broccoli all day.

So I recommend thinking of “good posture” as a cue, not an obligation. 

There isn’t a posture that’s perfect all day, every day. Every position gets uncomfortable with time. 

That’s why the best posture is your next posture!

Instead of chasing perfect alignment 100% of the time, try asking yourself:

• Which positions actually feel comfortable? And which ones feel uncomfortable? 

• Where do I feel the discomfort/pain? 

• What small thing can I do right now to feel more comfortable? Even if it’s not a “good posture”?

It can be something as simple as changing the height of your chair. Or maybe walking 5-10 minutes around the house. 

…Or even slouching for a bit (oh no, he didn’t say that!!!).

What I do as a physio who works from home

When I first started working from home in 2020, I thought I was immune to desk pain. I was a physical therapist, after all. I knew how to sit with good posture, right?

Well, my joints started acting up after a couple of days. 

My knees and hips were stiff, my neck hated me, and I even got migraines from time to time. 

Sitting “correctly” didn’t fix it. If anything, trying to force good posture made me more tense.

So after some trial and error, here’s what fixed my joint stiffness and kept migraines far away:

• Responding early to discomfort, not waiting until I’m miserable to move. If I feel stiffness in an area, that’s my cue to walk a bit around, or to change the way I sit for a while. 

• Changing positions often. From sitting cross-legged in my chair (blasphemy!), to sitting at the edge of the seat, to the textbook definition of good sitting posture, to slouching. The key is to move, not stay in any of those for long.

• Getting a standing desk. It’s an absolute game-changer. Standing is the second best joint reset you can do after a couple of hours sitting. 

• Moving more. This is the BEST joint reset after hours of sitting. Even if it’s just walking around the house for 5 minutes, every movement helps!

Remember: All these small changes add up. 

They will keep the blood flow moving throughout your body, so not one area gets stiff all the time. 

Home office set up to promote posture variety

Give yourself permission to move, fidget, slouch, stretch, stand, or walk. Your posture isn’t broken. Your body just wants a little change.

That’s why the BEST thing you can do for your posture isn’t “fixing it.” It’s creating a home office that promotes movement. 

And I’m not talking about ditching your chair for an exercise ball (tried it, hated it). 

Here’s what I recommend:

• Grab an under desk elliptical or a mini bike if you want to start moving without overhauling your home office (or spending tons).

• Get a standing desk, this is the one I recommend. It’s the biggest bang for your buck, as you can seamlessly shift between sitting and standing as you work. Just don’t stand all day either!

• A walking pad, this is my budget-friendly one. The absolute best thing you can do for your joints is walking, and even better if you can do it while working! But get it once you’re used to standing as you work. 

• A gaming-style chair, this is mine. Gaming chairs are for, well, gamers… who spend HOURS sitting! So these chairs are big and comfy, allowing you to sit in different positions during the day.