Rounded shoulders

You Should Probably Sit Up For This: Physical Therapist On Building Better Posture | Here & Now - NPR
Physical therapist Rupal Patel ( @rupal512)

6 Tips For Improving Your Posture 1. Make sure your body feels grounded and balanced while sitting

"That's the best tool that we have for feedback for ourselves, is our body, and how we feel inside of it."

2. Think of your pelvis and rib cage as bowls

"A great way to think of it is, you can imagine your pelvis being in the shape of a bowl, and you can also imagine your rib cage being in the shape of a bowl, except that bowl is upside down," Patel says. "So you can kinda picture that these two bowls sit on top of one another, and if you're slouching forward -- for example, if you are in an upright, kind of military posture -- you'll notice that both of those bowls are open to the front. And so any water, let's say, that's in those bowls is gonna be spilling forward. If you're slouching in the opposite direction so that your shoulders are hunched forward, and your head is coming forward on your body, you'll notice that those bowls are gonna open up to the back.

"So a really good and simple way to kind of bring you back to that natural balance would be to balance those two bowls on top of one another, so that there is no opening."

3. Let your shoulders "be heavy"

I always tell people, 'Think about your shoulder blades like slices of butter melting down your back into your back pocket,' " Patel says. "We want to try to avoid forcing them down or pulling them in, because that's gonna create another muscle imbalance. And so again, it's about that awareness of letting them stay heavy as well."

4. Stay hydrated, and remember to get up and move

"I think it's good practice to do little things such as drinking lots of water to make sure you're getting up and going to the restroom, just to give yourself that reset whenever you sit back down," Patel says. "Or if you have a standing desk, same concept, just standing in a way that is good for your body."

5. Limit your phone time

"Maybe give yourself a cap on how [many] extended periods of time you're gonna spend on your phone," Patel says. "Trying to bring your phone up to your face, rather than your head down to your phone, is another good tip."

6. Get a good night's sleep

"With sleep, I always tell people that your body, again, is gonna tell you when you need to switch positions," Patel says. "There is no one ideal position that works for everybody, and there's not one mattress that works for everybody. I think the best thing for sleep is making sure that you're getting good quality sleep so that you can function optimally and your immune system is up to par."

This segment aired on December 14, 2017.