I recently read an article on posture that I found on the Mayo Clinic website. I noticed that the recommended approach was that you should force yourself upright and hold yourself in the proper position. It warned that you would feel stiff and wooden at first, but that you ‘would get used to it.” I disagree with this advice, and I suspect that ‘getting used to it’ actually means slumping unconsciously back into your habitual and familiar way of sitting. It is very hard to maintain a stiffened posture for very long without experiencing pain.

The human organism evolved to be light, efficient, mobile, alert and responsive in order to survive.
Modern life has created conditions that make us wooden, overstrained, stiff, and shut down.

Everyone knows bad posture is harmful. But the solution is not stiffness and rigidity. “Sitting up straight” is unsustainable when bracing with all your might. That runs counter to the principles of the healthy organism.

Again: we want to be light, efficient, mobile, alert and responsive. This is the healthiest state to be in. It is possible to shed some of modern life’s harmful side effects by studying the Alexander Technique. One benefit is that you learn to stop slouching and sit with more ease and fluidity.