坐直！改善你不良坐姿的小贴士

As a freelance writer, I do most of my work wearing cotton Old Navy pants, slumped down in a squishy arm chair with a computer on my lap. I also spend a small fortune on massages trying to work the increasingly annoying kinks out of my shoulders and upper back. Coincidence? Nope. The more time we spend sitting in front of our computers, the worse our posture gets. Modern technology is turning us into literally twisted creatures.

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

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

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

• If you sit at a desk all day, don’t perch on the edge of your seat at work trying to sit up straight. The best thing you can do is scoot your hips and butt against the back of the chair, and use it for support—that’s what it’s there for. “You have to support your spine. Your muscles are going to get tired, they will fatigue and you’ll slowly start slumping down,” Sullivan says.

• Get up frequently and walk around. (I wear a Jawbone fitness tracker that vibrates when it senses that I haven’t moved in a long time. I also sometimes set my phone alarm to go off every 30 minutes, and I do jumping jacks. Sometimes.)

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

• Work out your core. Never mind a six-pack—you need to concentrate on the transverse abdominus, the deep abdominal muscle that acts as a “corset” around the lumbar spine, according to 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 your pelvis to tilt or lift, which is why you have your hands on your pelvis. Hold it for 5 seconds and repeat. “Once you get it, you can do it all the time, just sitting at work and it becomes a habit,” Sullivan says.

• You can work on your posture in a more hard-core way at the gym, too. Davidson told me to try backwards jump-roping. “If the rope hits you, you have the wrong posture,” he says. He also recommends hula hooping. (Fun!)

• Sullivan recommends focusing on the upper back and shoulder muscles. One of her favorite exercises is having clients stand up against a wall, with their hips touching the wall. Put a tennis ball between your shoulder blades and try to squeeze the ball. Rows are also excellent for improving posture, since it causes you to pull your shoulders up and back.

Now stop reading this article and go for a walk.

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”。

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（Pat Davidson），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。

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）。

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。

1、如果你要在桌子旁呆一整天，工作时别坐在椅子的边缘，要尽量坐直。最好的方法是臀部贴着椅背而坐，用椅背撑住你的腰——这正是它之所以在那里的原因。“你得利用椅子来撑着你的脊柱。肌肉可能有点酸，有点累，而你也会慢慢地放松，背又驼了起来。”沙利文说道。

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。）

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。

4、锻炼核心肌肉。沙利文表示，别再纠结六块腹肌了，要多注重腹横肌的训练。腹横肌是深层腹肌，做一下几个动作：平躺，膝盖弯曲，把上放在屁股上，正常呼吸。然后吸气，让肚脐慢慢贴近脊椎。把手放在骨盆上是为了防止骨盆的倾斜或者抬升。坚持5秒后，再重复这个动作。沙利文说：“学会这个动作后你可以经常做，就像坐着工作一样。慢慢地，你会逐渐成为习惯。

5、你还可以在健身时多练习核心肌肉。戴维森建议我向后跳绳。他说：“如果绳子打到你了，则说明你的姿势有问题。”他还建议可以转呼啦圈。（真有趣！）

6、沙利文建议要加强对背部肌肉和肩膀肌肉的训练。她最喜欢的训练就是让学员贴墙站立，并且臀部要触到墙面。还将一个网球放在肩胛骨处，然后学员得努力地挤压那个球。划船也能够很好的改善姿势，因为划船使肩膀得以前后拉伸。

好了，文章读完了，快出去走走吧！