5 Tips for Becoming a Happy Sitter

Here are 5 tips that address common questions about posture and sitting and that will lead you on the path to becoming a happy sitter!  (Though don't forget to get up and move often! :-))

1.  Use the back of the chair:  If you lean back in your chair, scoot all the way back.  Don't slide down the chair with only your upper back touch it and don't drop forward.  If you don't want to sit all the way back, or you'd prefer to perch on the edge, that's fine too.  Just make sure that if you lean back that you really use the back of the chair.  How to best make use of your chair depends on how you tend to sit and work and factors such as whether the chair is the right size for you.  If you'd like to learn more about your own sitting habits, take my quiz to find out what kind of sitter you are.  Go to my website and scroll down on the homepage.

2.  Feet on the floor:  If you don't usually keep your feet flat on the floor, try it in 5-minute increments.  It might feel better or you might feel restless and want to move your feet back to the old position.  Keeping your feet on the floor can help reduce lower back strain, but you may need some time to get used to it.  

3.  Don't hold your breath:  Often when we focus, there can be an inclination to tense up and breathe shallowly.  See if you can catch yourself doing this, and if you do, don't just take a big breath in and forget about it.  See if you can breath more naturally while you focus.  Starting to notice where you feel movement in your body when you breath is a good place to start.  You can practice this lying down or sitting back in your chair during a break if it's hard to focus on while working.  You may want to try my audio guide for sitting.  There's one for lying down as well.

4.  Adjust your screen and keyboard:  Make sure that your screen is at eye-level and that your keyboard is placed so that your forearms are parallel to the floor.  It's ok if your hands are a little lower than your elbows, so long as that doesn't lead to slouching.  When tends to be a bigger problem is  when the shoulders go up if the hands are higher than the elbows.

5.  And finally...The happy sitter:  This might seem silly, but smile just a little as you're working.  Just enough so that you lift your cheeks slightly.  Visually this should hardly be noticable.  Aside from smiling possibly affecting your mood in a positive way, it's a good way to energize your face and to help keep you from dropping your head down or pushing your neck forward.