What kind of sitter are you?

What kind of sitter are you?

Is there a right way to sit to have good posture?

When people sign up for posture classes, they often expect to learn the right way to sit, the right way to stand, walk, etc.  There's often this idea that "good posture" is a held position, but people find that they are quite uncomfortable trying to hold it.

Here's the secret....Good posture isn't about holding a right position and if you're trying to do that, you're probably interfering with good posture, movement and breathing.  So, on that note, I don't believe that there is one right way to sit. 

Ergonomic guidelines are helpful, but the truth is that we all have different work habits and personalities.  Some people like to be up-close-and personal with their screen and these folks usually find that their "ergonomic" office chair doesn't support them sitting this way.  Others like to lean back a bit, which is not a problem unless you're sliding down the seat and putting a lot of pressure on your lower back.

I've spent nearly 13 years helping people with their desk posture and I begin any workspace consultation with a questions....How do you tend to sit?  What are your work habits?  What movements are you doing most often (ie. mouse, phone, typing, jotting down notes on a pad)? 
Once I figure out what the person is doing and how they tend to do it, then I can show them how to do it with better posture and less strain...a lot more nuanced then simply showing a diagram of how to sit correctly. 

So....before you start adjusting your desk, take the quiz and find out what kind of sitter you are.  In my experience, there tend to be four types of sitters as pertains to sitting at a desk and working at the computer.  That doesn't mean there aren't more types!  And of course there's also the standing desk...but I'll leave that for another quiz!