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Good posture will reduce stress on the spine and the ligaments that hold the spinal joints together. This minimizes the likelihood of injury. Therefore, proper posture can protect your back.

Your posture speaks a lot about you. People with a slouched posture are more often than not perceived as depressed whereas people with a straight and upright posture are perceived as confident. You may not be aware of it, but there is a correlation between how your mind and body work. It is called embodied cognition and denotes that the body reacts based on the way the mind influences it. A person with low energy will have a slouched posture with a slow walk, whereas someone, who is more positive and confident, will have vigor to them and an erect posture.

A poor posture can result in immense strain on your back and can lead to many ill effects like back pain, neck pain and soreness in your body. A bad posture also harms your digestion, as your posture impacts how your organs work. When your abdominal organs are under stress due to your posture, it impacts your digestion. A poor posture also affects your blood circulation. When you sit or stand in an awkward position, it affects your blood flow and can cause other related problems like back pain, blood pressure, and spider veins.

Proper posture should also feel natural, so you’re not overcompensating. Good posture shows a feeling of “I’m attentive” to whatever is going on with your surroundings. Someone with good posture looks confident. If you were a warrior, you’d be standing tall and strong. If you were a politician on the campaign trail, you’d do well to stand proud. If you were trying to get the attention of someone you fancied, you might stand straight so you appear confident and are noticed. Standing and sitting tall can make you appear more attractive ... and slimmer, too. Keep these mental pictures of high-importance scenarios in mind, even during a routine day, and it will help build the habit of good posture.

If you use your phone all day, be very aware of your head and neck position. Tilting your head down can easily strain your spine. Regularly take a minute to stretch your neck. Even better, bring your arms up in front of your eyes, lifting the phone up. This ensures that you’re moving your eyes and not your head. It will feel weird at first because you’ll wonder if people are staring at you, but you’ll get used to it. Plus, you’ll set a good example for others to follow.

When sitting at your workstation, make sure your feet are firmly flat on the floor (or footrest), with your knees level or lower than your hips. Also, make sure that you can use the device without reaching.

When using a telephone of any kind, never pinch the phone between your ear and shoulder. Use a headset or speakerphone to reduce shoulder strain.

For women, high heels might look sexy, but they probably don’t feel sexy. Yes, they’re fashionable, but they’re bad for your posture, and you’ll pay the price if you wear them often. Pumps and high heels push the base of your spine forward, which overarches your back. This can change the way your backbone lines up, and it can put pressure on your nerves. This will cause you back pain. Heels also put more weight on your knees. If you must wear heels to work, take them off, if possible, at different times during the day to give your musculoskeletal system a rest. Keep a pair of slippers or flats at work to wear for the majority of the day, and only don the high heels when necessary.

When you stand or sit in a slouched position, it clusters your internal organs. Your lungs also get scrunched up and leave less room for your lungs to fill up. This leads to difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath. If you have a right posture, your lungs will open up and have more capacity to fill in and in turn improving your breathing.

Position your shoulders gently back and down, with your chest sticking out a bit. If possible, let your arms hang naturally down the sides of the body.

Most of us sit for extended portions of our day. Therefore, it’s optimal if you have a chair with good back support. You can use a rolled-up towel (or a pillow) to place behind your lumbar spine.

Keep your feet flat on the floor. If they don’t reach the floor, use a footrest, even if you have to make your own with a box or a stack of books. It’s important.

When you reach for something above shoulder level, you should stand on a safe, sturdy stool. Straining to reach high objects can hurt your back, neck, and shoulders. Even if you don’t feel the damage in the act of reaching, it can cause problems later.

When you have to lift items, make sure you don’t bend forward. The right way to lift objects is by bending your hips and knees and squatting gently towards the object. Before picking the object up, keep your legs straight and then pick the object. Never pick any heavy object above your chest level.

Many people have chronic lower back pain every morning upon waking. Even people who are essentially pain-free during the day can experience routine irritation and stiffness upon waking in the morning. There may be some treatment options by simply changing the way you sleep.