Hi there!  Do you ever feel slouched or stiff from reading?   I invite you to pause before you fix your posture and the old way and check out this video for some new tips to try out next time you curl up with a book. In the video, I talk about... Sitting or lounging with a book/tablet on a couch, bed, or chair Getting both yourself and your book/device in balance (pillows are your best friend) How to look down at what your reading without straining your neck, back, and shoulders The common theme of each Power Pause video is how to pause in order to become mor Chec ..read more

Hi there!  Today's posture tip them is sitting down...specifically sitting down...not just sitting. Sitting can occur in many contexts and each one could be it's own subtopic (stay tuned for future videos!) ...But no matter where we sit, we have to get to the seat.  Meaning we're often standing first and then we sit down.  In that moment of changing position, there's an opportunity to reset your posture for better or worse.  If you're mindful of how you move through that journey, you may find you have better posture when you reach your destination (ie. the chair).  ..read more

Bonjour from the French countryside where there are lots of sheep, donkeys, and other 4-legged creatures walking around.  This week's video is about how we as 2-legged beings can walk and not mess up our posture. The first "step" to better walking actually isn't about how you step.  It has to do with what is unique to us bi-pedal folk... Our heads are on top of our bodies, they're heavy, and they have a major influence on our posture when we walk. In the video, I talk about... Common ways that heads get in the way of good walking Simple tips for keeping your head balanced and ..read more

Hi there!  As I mentioned last week, I've started a new video series.  Each week I'm posting a short video with a tip on improving posture, focusing on an activity or theme. This week's Poise Geeks Power Pause video is on a topic that I get a lot of questions about -- posture and sleep! In the video, I talk about... Side-sleeping vs. sleeping on your back How to avoid scrunching Tip for resetting your mind and body so you feel less tense and more ready to sleep. The common theme of each video is how to pause in order to become more conscious of your habits and make diff ..read more

I've started a weekly video series called Poise Geeks Power Pause, each one including a posture tip on a different topic. The topic of this week's video is posture while using your smartphone and it covers... How to move your head so that you don't end up slumping your shoulders What level to hold the phone at A quick sequence you can do to reset how you're positioning yourself to look at the phone The common theme of each video is how to pause in order to become more conscious of your habits and make different movement and postural choices ..read more

Hi there!  I don't know about you, but for me, during the winter I become particularly aware of how bulky coats and scarves affect my posture and movement.  In addition to heavy winter wear, there are many articles of clothing (worn in all seasons) that can affect how tall we stand and how well we move. Just like you might adjust your desk set-up so that it supports good posture, you can consider the clothes you wear in this regard in this regard as well.   Here are some common effects of clothing on posture.  Use this guide to help you to ..read more

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Sure, sitting at your computer can negatively affect your posture. So can over correcting, but today I want to talk about another trigger for poor posture and back pain-- Culture. What I mean by "culture" is the movements we are exposed to, body language that we observe, and how we present ourselves. One area that a lot of people tend to have culturally-influenced habits around are the hips, or more accurately, the pelvis. If we just talk about walking for a moment, the pelvis should move as you walk and in multiple directions - up, down, side to si ..read more

Have you ever come inside on a cold day and washed your hands in water that was luke-warm, but to your chilled hands, felt uncomfortably hot? Changing long-held physical habits like your posture can be similar.  More often than not, when someone is standing straighter, they feel like they're either slouching or leaning forward... (Looks like the photo above on the left/top.  Feels like the one on the right/bottom.) But this feeling doesn't reflect reality. When I tell my clients they are actually standing straighter, they usually don't believe me, but then they t ..read more

Simple movement to practice to help you sit straigther without getting tired. Trying to holding yourself up, I mean the old way of fixing posture -- lifting the chest and pulling the shoulders back... ...is kind of like this... Let's say you've been feeling like a couch potato and then decide enough is enough...so you go out and run as hard as you can for as long as you can until you have no choice but to stop and then you feel sore, run down, and then you draw the conclusion that you aren't good at maintaining an exercise routine. That wouldn't really make sense right? Logically, you might ..read more

Have you every wondered why cats and other animals don't slouch? What is it about slouching that is so human? Here are a few thoughts on this topic as I try to take a photo of Seymour using my laptop. I thought he might write this email for me, but he had no interest as you can see by his facial expression above... ...which brings us to... Why Cats Don't Slouch Reason # 1: Cats have no interest in computers. Or at least not for the reasons we do. They do seem to like to sit on keyboards when humans are wasting potential cuddling time typing away on them. Seriously though. Cats genuninly ..read more