Portland, Oregon

Karin says:

“I first tried Rolfing when I graduated from college, hoping that it would help with the back pain I'd had since high school. It turned out that improving my posture through Rolfing was the key.

The 10-session series resolved the chronic back pain, and it also dramatically improved my athletic ability. When I began practicing yoga, the movements felt easy and strong because my joints were better positioned and my movement was more coordinated. I trained to run a 5K without much discomfort, learned to ski as an adult, and got my blackbelt in Aikido. I tried each of those activities prior to receiving Rolfing, and felt a huge change after my Rolfing series. Rolfing helped me access my natural ability to move. 

Now I've been a Rolfer for 15 years, and I love doing this work. Sometimes it is like following clues to unlock a puzzle, so we work together to solve the mystery.”

San Diego, California

Dr. Kamshad Raiszadeh, an orthopedic spine surgeon, established SpineZone in 2005 to develop the best aspects of non-operative treatment in an atmosphere of empowerment to maximize the body’s own healing capacity. With this program, many fewer patients have required surgery, and the ones who underwent surgery had much better long term results. Through the 4 clinics Dr. Raiszadeh built in San Diego he learned that with appropriate education, focused strengthening and postural treatment we can decrease the rate of injections and surgery while significantly improving the function and satisfaction of patients.

Ergonomic office chairs for back pain and better posture

https://www.qor360.com/

The Clearmind Posture Cushion has a unique design making it the perfect cushion for meditation. A base of firm upholstery foam provides stability and shape (for good posture) while a top layer of memory foam provides unparalleled comfort while sitting. The Clearmind Posture Cushion is perfect for beginners and experienced meditators alike but is also suitable for anyone who wants to improve their posture. 

Available at http://clearmindcushion.com

• Why a Writer's Back Hurts and How to Fix It

Watch this TED Ed video by Murat Dalkilinç on the benefits of good posture. Then review and learn more here!

Watch this TED Ed video by Murat Dalkilinç about why sitting is bad for you. Then review and learn more here!

Read these articles about new ProBax® seats in the August Wilson theater in NYC. Made by NuBax, “the patented ProBax® cushions reduce back ache and muscle fatigue from sitting.” Read more here (from the New Yorker)  or here (from Playbill.com).

Watch this video about the StandX, a chair developed by a scientist at MIT that is designed to solve the problems of bad posture and immobility while sitting.

Watch the video from 1949 about posture and personality or click here

Watch the video below from 1953 or click here

Read “Everything that’s wrong with high heels” on The Washington Post blog.

As seen in the lobby of the Santa Clara Hyatt Regency

Check out this graphic in the Washington Post about the dangers of sitting and recommendations for what to do instead.

Product: Lumo Lift
Price: $79.99

Lumo Lift is a digital posture coach that provides real-time feedback on your posture as well as the ability to track your progress over time through the Lumo Lift app. Through its gentle and subtle vibrational feedback feature for posture, this wearable tech solution to posture allows users to identify poor posture and correct it as soon as it happens.

Product: BackJoy
Price: $40-$60 depending on the model

I was prowling the aisles and doing some reporting at an ergonomics trade show in Las Vegas when someone leapt out of a booth and handed me an item that looked vaguely like a tractor seat. It was a gift, he assured me, and I should try it.

I put it in my “swag bag” and headed for a lecture by one of ergonomics’ luminaries that was about to start, in the ballroom at Caesar’s Palace. The chairs, lined up in rows, might have been okay for resting between dances at a wedding, but for listening to a lecture, they were incredibly uncomfortable.

I tried my usual remedies—shoving my rolled-up jacket behind me, sitting sideways, and lolling like a teenager in a boring math class. Nothing helped. Then I remembered: I had a BackJoy in my bag. I peeled the plastic wrapping (not unquietly) off and placed it beneath me.

The BackJoy is essentially an orthotic for your butt, making it impossible for your sitting bones to sink into the chair or for your sacrum to sag. I couldn’t believe it: the hellish chair was suddenly perfectly okay. In time, I discovered that a BackJoy could make any chair anywhere—even a bench at a sporting event in the freezing wind—into acceptable seating. I take it with me whenever I know there’s a long sit in my future. Understandably, every single time I go through security, the TSA guy or gal, who must perch for hours on a stool, asks me many detailed questions about it. I have never gotten one of them to stop using their fancy flashlight long enough to try it.