Sit Up Straight: Tips for Improving YourTerrible Posture

As a freelance writer, I do most of my work wearing cotton OldNavy pants, slumped down in a squishy arm chair with acomputer on my lap. I also spend a small fortune on massagestrying to work the increasingly annoying kinks out of myshoulders and upper back. Coincidence? Nope. The more timewe spend sitting in front of our computers, the worse our posture gets. Modern technology isturning us into literally twisted creatures.

身为一个自由作家，我大部分工作都是这样完成的：穿着一条旧的棉质海军裤，蜷坐在一张软绵绵的椅子上，把电脑放在膝盖上。我还花了一小笔钱买了个按摩器，希望能缓解我肩膀和上背部的疼痛。巧合吗？才不是！我们在电脑前待的时间越久，我们的坐姿就会越差。现代科技正将我们变成“畸形生物”。

In addition to being detrimental to how your body functions, bad posture isn’t cute. It causes youto jut your hips forward, slump your shoulders, and even breathe inefficiently, according to PatDavidson, a trainer with a PhD in Exercise Physiology who is the Director of Training Methodologyand Continuing Education Coordinator at Peak Performance in NYC. I went to see him for apainstakingly objective and honest assessment of my posture.

除了对人的身体机能有害之外，不良坐姿还会对你的身材造成影响。帕特·戴维森（PatDavidson），是一名运动心理学的博士。同时还是瑞典户外运动品牌Peak Performance纽约市健身教育协调部主任。他表示不良的坐姿会使你的胯部突出，肩膀下垂，甚至会导致呼吸不顺畅。我找到他，希望他能费心对我的姿势做个客观实在的评判

Davidson explained that bad posture compromises your diaphragm, the big muscle right below theribs that helps you take deep breaths. So instead, you start using other muscles, like yourshoulders, to help you breathe. I found out that I’m guilty of shoulder breathing, which is likelycontributing to some of my upper back fatigue and discomfort. I also learned that I “walk withmy lower back.” Turns out, people with lousy posture don’t walk correctly, and they count ontheir lower back muscles to help propel themselves forward. (An adulthood devoted to high heelsprobably hasn’t helped my walking problem either.)

戴维森说道，不良坐姿会对隔膜造成一定伤害。隔膜位于肋骨正下方，在它的帮助下我们才能够深呼吸。因此，用不良坐姿坐着时，身体会调动像肩膀等地方的肌肉来帮助呼吸。由此，我发现正是我自己造成了自身上背部的疲劳和不适。我还得知，我“靠下背部走路”。事实证明，坐姿不正确的人通常走路姿势也不正确。他们通常依靠下背部的肌肉支撑，推着身体向前走（成年后常穿高跟鞋这一事实或许也导致了我走路姿势的问题）。

Aubin Sullivan, a physical therapist and the Clinical Director of Cynergy Physical Therapy in NewYork City, sees a lot of women like me in her practice. Here are a few quick fixes she recommendsfor correcting your slump:

理疗学家、纽约赛诺秀理疗中心的临床主任奥宾·沙利文（Aubin Sullivan），在临床实验中，见过很多情况跟我相似的女性。在这里，她提供了几条建议，可以快速帮你矫正姿势。

• Get up frequently and walk around. (I wear a Jawbone fitness tracker that vibrates when itsenses that I haven’t moved in a long time. I also sometimes set my phone alarm to go off every30 minutes, and I do jumping jacks. Sometimes.)

2、多起来到处走走。（我手上带了个Jawbone的健身追踪器。当仪器感知到你长时间没有运动的话，就会震动提醒。通常，我会设置以30分钟为间隔的闹铃，提醒自己做些跳跃运动，不过只是“有时”而已。）

• If you carry a heavy shoulder bag, make sure to carry it on both your right and leftshoulder, switching off as each gets tired. Even better: wear a cross-body bag so that theweight’s more evenly distributed.

3、如果背包很重，确保两边肩膀都要用到。一边肩膀累了，就换另一边背。更好的方法是背斜挎包，这样背包的重量会分布的更均匀。

• Work out your core. Never mind a six-pack—you need to concentrate on the transverseabdominus, the deep abdominal muscle that acts as a “corset” around the lumbar spine, accordingto Sullivan. To do this: lay on your back with your knees bent, put your hands on your hips,breathe normally, and pull your belly button straight down to your spine. You don’t want yourpelvis to tilt or lift, which is why you have your hands on your pelvis. Hold it for 5 seconds andrepeat. “Once you get it, you can do it all the time, just sitting at work and it becomes a habit,”Sullivan says.