Do You Have Correct Sitting Posture at Your Desk?

Sitting at a desk looking at a screen all day long is exhausting, whether you’re in the office or working from home. Not having correct sitting posture may be what’s to blame for your chronic neck and back pain (which is already bad enough as it is) but can also put you at risk for a LOT of other health issues in the long term.

It’s logical that craning your neck and slouching while working at your computer not only hurts, but it will also cause your posture to deteriorate over time. As it turns out, having correct sitting computer posture is crucial in today’s world BECAUSE everywhere you look, you see screens!

Long-Term Effects of Bad Computer Posture Broken Down

Forward Head Posture: What is it and do you have it? (Probably). Forward Head Posture is the term to describe the position of your head and overall posture from habitually craning your neck to look at computer screens, essentially. Though there are other ways that you can develop this, computers, laptops, and cell phones are the main culprits.
If you do have a tendency to sit in this position, it increases the workload of a lot of the muscles connected to the spine that are responsible for holding up your head. As time passes, your body will try to adapt to hold your head up for straight-ahead vision. This is when some muscles become elongated and weaken, while others shorten and tighten.
Change in Your Spinal Curvature: Our backs have four main curves that make an ‘S’ shape when properly aligned. Even though our spines can endure a lot, putting too much pressure by sitting and standing in wrong positions slowly causes the spine’s natural shape to change.
Impaired Lung Function & Circulation: If you lean or hunch forward, it can negatively affect your oxygen intake. Not only does slouching reduce your lung function and capacity, but it also reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to your organs and your brain. This can lead to further issues down the road, which even includes heart disease and reduced cognitive function.
Poor or Disrupted Digestion: This is another one for you slouchers out there to be aware of. Slouching at your desk (or at home) compresses your abdominal organs, which includes your digestive tract. Over time, this negative impact on your metabolism can lead to difficulties processing food and nutrients properly, bloating, abdominal cramping and constipation. Thus, in turn, this can lead to a nutritional deficiency.
Hormonal Changes: Believe it or not, poor posture may alter endocrine function. The endocrine system is the system in the body for maintaining proper hormonal balance so everything works smoothly. Studies have shown maintaining poor posture for just a few minutes can cause drastic changes in hormonal production, including elevations in cortisol and other inflammatory compounds that typically lead to inflammation and weight gain around the midsection. Hormones that affect mood may also be impacted by poor posture, this can lead to decreased mood/ libido and depression. If these are changes that take place within just a few minutes, imagine what chronically poor posture is doing to you!

If you’ve read this and want to take the next steps to correct your sitting posture, don’t wait another day slouching at your desk. Feel free to reach out to Wolf Moon Wellness for more information or to set up an appointment to get started on correcting your posture. For those of you who are unable to make it to our office, we’re offering an online posture course that you can sign up for right now. So, if you’d like to be able to walk out of the office with your head held high, make the decision to improve your posture, health and your life today.

This Program will go over the essentials of posture, core and breath work.

Get access now

About Wolf Moon Wellness

John Laznovsky is co-owner of Wolf Wellness, a successful wellness center located in Holbrook NY that offers various holistic health care modalities. John himself has multiple degrees and certifications. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science and Kinesiology from Cortland University and is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist. John is certified by the American College of Sports and Medicine, the CHEK Institute and Precision Nutrition.

Mary is a Licensed Acupuncturist and CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach who has been busy in private and clinical practice since graduating from New York College in April 2010. Mary values Eastern Medicine because she believes it is a truly holistic healing practice which incorporates a synchronicity between the body and the mind. She works with her patients building a postive and healthy environment for an optimal healing process. Mary's methods work to treat the body as a whole, seeking out the root of a disease in addition to alleviating the symptoms. She has studied with many experts in the fields of Acupuncture, Tui Na and Qi Gong. Mary has been voted Best of Long Island 2010 (with colleagues) and Best Acupuncturist in Queens 2013 (solo) at 3 Elements Healing Arts Center. In 2015 Mary spent a month at the Sivananda Ashram in the Bahamas training in their famous Teacher Training Program earning her the title of Yoga Siromani (teacher of yoga). She has since been sharing and implementing the knowledge learned there with her clients with great results.

John Laznovsky has over ten years of experience in the field of corrective exercise and rehabilitation as a Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, Holistic Lifestyle Coach and Manual Therapist. He holds advanced certifications in Kettlebells, Functional Movement Screening, Posture Analysis, Sciatica Treatment, Neck and Scapula Pain, Back Pain and CPR and AED.

John specializes in treating disorders of the nervous and musculoskeletal system. By use of systematic postural screenings, gait analysis and range of motion assessments, John is able to locate postural dysfunction and faulty movement patterns that commonly lead to pathology. He assists his clients by utilizing advanced manual therapy techniques to directly treat the issues observed and creates an individualized rehabilitative program for the client to follow. Each rehabilitative program consists of corrective stretches, mobilizations and exercises tailored to help correct the client’s unique set of imbalances.

John's clients range from amateur and professional athletes to people rehabilitating an injury or those who are dealing with acute or chronic pain. John focuses on addressing any imbalances in the body such as chronic muscular tension, weak muscular chains and sling systems and postural asymmetries and works with his clients to correct them using the aforementioned techniques. He also helps clients with various health issues, digestive problems and other ailments by utilizing various holistic and homeopathic modalities. John feels small lifestyle changes can go a long way. Along with in-depth nutritional counseling and holistic lifestyle coaching, John's well-rounded therapeutic and training background add a dynamic edge to the health and fitness scene!

Now that you've seen my credentials, let me give you an idea of my background into my health and fitness journey. I wasn't always the happy, healthy, fit person you see in the picture above. Not so long ago, I was a very unhealthy, frustrated person. I tried to keep it under wraps as much as I could since I was working in and out of gyms as a Personal Trainer. Being unhealthy in the health and fitness scene doesn't really look too good. I was embarrased. I used to get frustrated when I'd see healthy bodied people eating junk and mistreating their body. I, of course, used to be one of these people, until the health issues became so prevalent, I couldn't ignore them anymore. I vowed that if I could become healthy again, I wouldn't mistreat my body anymore and I would also relay this information to help others with their health and well being.

My symptoms included: chronic IBS and digestive distress. I would commonly find blood in my bowel movements, not to mention I was going about 4-6 x a day! My stomach was always bloated and I would constantly get cramps and pain in my abdomen. Muscular cramps and muscle spasms were a common thing for me. I just assumed it was because I worked out really hard and it was normal. I was also unable to get those beach ready abs : (

I suffered constant sinus pressure and congestion and I would frequently become dizzy and lose my sense of balance. I remember being nervous walking down hallways with other people because I was afraid I was going to bump into them. I found myself getting sick multiple times a year and missing work because of it. I visited several doctors and specialists, they ran some blood tests and other screenings but they didn't really have an answer except antibiotics and nasal sprays for my sinuses.

Chronic fatigue and irritability plagued me. Sometimes at the end of a day I would just lie on my bed shaking because I was so run down. My immune system seemed to be getting weaker, my symptoms became worse and I had no explanation for any of it. I asked the Doctors several times if the nasal spray had any side effects because I suspected it was the reason for my weakend immune system, they replied "No, keep taking it, it will help." One day I saw a commercial on T.V. for the commercial brand of the nasal spray I was taking and they listed a suppressed immune system as a side effect of the drug. I knew it! I finally figured out that the chronic rounds of antibiotics, nasal sprays, poor diet and lifestyle had all severely weakend my immune system.

As if a blessing from god, I met Mary, whom is now my wife : ) Mary, being a licensed acupuncturist, introduced me to some concepts and protocols from Eastern Medicine and acupuncture treatment. At this time, I was also getting heavily into learning nutrition and lifestyle and functionality as taught by Paul Chek, John Berrardi and other health and fitness gurus. Dont get me wrong, I already had a solid background in nutrition and fitness with my degree and experience as a trainer but the info I learned outside of school took me to the next level. Mary knew how to test me for food senstivities and allergies since she is certified in Applied Kinesiology as well. It turns out that I had a lot of food allergies and sensitivities! I also realized, from my own research, that I had leaky gut syndrome and candida over-growth. I worked with a Naturopathic doctor who helped me further tweak my diet and lifestyle and put me on a few different supplements from Standard Process to help me heal.

Switching to an Organic diet and lifestyle, cutting out processed foods (even the organic ones) as much as possible, eating the right type of foods for my body type, following the proper guidelines to heal leaky gut and reduce candida over-growth, really helped me take my health to the next level. I started a meditative/ spiritual practice and allowed more love and peace into my life. The changes to my health and well being didn't happen over night, it happened in stages but I was patient and determined. Since the beginning of my health journey, my knowledge in regard to nutrition and the human body have increased extensively. Mary watched me grow stronger, healthier and more peaceful as time went on.

I can now proudly say that I am the healthiest and happiest I have ever been! I have also kept my promise to relay this information to others, being the proud co-owner of Wolf Moon Wellness with my beautiful wife. I wish everyone the best in their journey and we would be proud to be a part of yours.

Be well,
John Laznovsky

My journey to health began in early 2012. I was still pretty fresh out of school and working at a busy health and wellness center helping people get great results with acupuncture while I was ironically at my most unhealthy. I was stressed out and overworked, trying so hard to prove myself and I was suffering the consequences physically and mentally. I was at least 20 pounds over weight, had terrible acne, bad pms and irregular periods. I found myself often bouncing back and forth between anxiety and depression and looking forward to drinking my cares away with friends on the weekends as an escape (and drinking more than I should have been too!). Add in a sweet tooth and all the take out I was eating and it was just an endless cycle of feeling crummy, but I didn't really know any different way to feel at that time. One day I distinctly remember looking at myself in the mirror and saying "This is it Mary, you're either going out shopping for all new clothes in a larger size or you're getting your butt in gear." This was the first major step in changing my ways.

I was living in Long Beach at the time so I traded the bar scene for the pool and the boardwalk. I ordered less take out, made some healthier choices and within about 6 months had really started to see some change. Far from perfect, I was still working with the bad skin and some extra fluff, but I felt better not only physically but in my mental emotional being. I was even ready to give dating a go!

With a little help from God, destiny and a good online profile; ENTER JOHN.

John had already begun his healing journey as well and was way further along with his diet and nutrition than I was. I remember being FASCINATED by the way he was eating! My food choices had always been guided by a combination of taste and calories, always more concerned with if it would make my thighs bigger rather than thinking of actual health benefits. John ate in ratios; proteins, carbs and fats and he ate breakfast EVERYDAY! Who was this crazy cat?! John loves to tell the story when I called him complaining of a headache when we first started dating and he asked me what I had eaten that day and how much water had I drank. My reply was " a few cookies and 3 cups of coffee". That was my first lesson on the relationship between what you put in your body and how you feel. He introduced me to organic and what the benefits were for your body and the environment and slowly but surely we helped each other put together all the elements of our healing process. We actively put good things into our bodies and eliminated the non organic foods, processed foods and chemicals. My skin started to completely clear and my weight became a non-issue. I lost the last few pounds and since changing to a whole food organic diet I've never had a problem with it again (As I write this, I am 6 months pregnant and weigh less than I did before I started my journey). It helps that I married my nutritionist!

John and I created Wolf Moon to share all that we've learned along the way so more people can experience the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. Neither one of us will EVER tell you it was easy, but we will always say it was worth it.