9 to 5 Wellness
Do you have the knowledge you need to help your organization get the best return on the time and capital invested in employee wellbeing? Are you a busy professional or C-suite leader looking to introduce wellbeing program at your work?
Discover the art and science of helping organizations grow their most important resource, their people. In this podcast we discuss how organizations can utilize the potential of wellbeing programs to deliver high return on investment (ROI) to employers. We talk about the radical impact that holistic employee wellbeing programs can have on overall quality of work and productivity. We will be sharing insights on investing in human capital. Such as:
🌟 What has helped their organizations gain a competitive advantage?
🌟 How they see the future of employee wellbeing?
🌟 Misunderstandings that are out in the corporate market today
🌟 Advice to other leaders to create a happier, healthier, and more productive workplace
Our guests are C-suite leaders, and wellness innovators across the value chain: HR managers, wellness champions, community wellbeing ambassadors, service vendors, and wellness consultants.
9 to 5 Wellness
How to Fix Rounded Shoulder Posture?
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In this episode I'm discussing the prevalent issue of rounded shoulder posture, which affects 98% of adults.
Tune in to learn the three-move routine to correct this posture, including the doorway pec stretch, the W squeeze, and the chin tuck.
00:00 Introduction to the Nine to Five Wellness Podcast
00:37 Host's Personal Update and Super Bowl Talk
02:15 Main Topic: Fixing Rounded Shoulder Posture
04:17 Understanding Rounded Shoulder Posture
07:01 Three Simple Moves to Fix Rounded Shoulders
08:39 Consistency and Additional Tips for Better Posture
09:49 Conclusion and Call to Action
🌟 🌟 🌟 If you liked this episode and would like to learn more about wellness training and workshops offered by 9 to 5 Wellness, email us at info@aeshathair.com. You can learn more about our programs at: https://toneandstrengthen.com/workshops-trainings/. 🌟 🌟 🌟
My passion is helping organizations create a culture of wellness, and I do this by setting up health programs that prioritize the most important asset they've got – their employees. Cheers to a healthier and happier journey ahead!
🌟 🌟 🌟 You can learn more about ME- the host at https://www.aeshatahir.com
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Welcome to the Nine to Five Wellness Podcast, a show about corporate wellness solutions with innovators and forward-thinking leaders who are at the forefront of the workplace wellness movement. I'm your host, Aisha Tahir.
Hello and welcome back to the Nine to five Wellness Podcast, your go-to spot for simple, actionable workplace productivity and health solutions. This last week has been so busy on my end, I've missed talking to you guys. And I don't even know why, but I've been working like long hours. It all started with, I wanna say Super Bowl Sunday.
I've been working nonstop since then. Just working on a new project for which I had to go to New York City on Monday and because of the NG transit. Train delays. I came home very late and then the last two days I've been working on a few new corporate contracts and that's taken up a lot of my time, but I really missed you guys.
As a side note though, did you like the Super Bowl? I love the ads. I think, one of the open AI ads was my favorite . How about you guys? The game, in my opinion, was very static. Not a whole lot of excitement. It was boring? Yes. And that's what I thought. But I don't know how you guys felt about it.
I guess if you're a Seahawks fan, maybe you liked it. There wasn't even a single touchdown till the fourth quarter. Definitely not my kind of game and, yeah, I wish Eagles were in Super Bowl, but now it didn't happen this year. It's okay. There's always next year we always start fresh. So I'm looking forward to this, uh, 2026 season.
So today's episode is on the topic of one of the muscle imbalances that I see in 98% of my patients. And if I'm being honest with you, this is probably one of the most asked questions. For me, as a, posture coach and as an exercise physiologist, like, how can I fix my rounded shoulders?
So, exactly that's the title of the podcast, how to Fix Rounded Shoulder Posture. So I'm gonna throw a question right at you. Look at yourself right now. Maybe you're sitting at a desk. Most probably you are. It's 3:00 PM on the East Coast, and 12:00 PM on the West coast and anywhere in between, it's still afternoon, so you're probably at a desk driving or texting, and chances are your shoulders are crept up towards your ears. You're wearing them as your earrings. Your chest is tight and you're slouching forward. So if that's the case, you have rounded shoulder posture and healthcare professionals like me.
We call this rounded shoulders or upper cross syndrome. You probably notice that your shoulders are resting in front of your ears, and if you haven't noticed it yet on yourself, maybe take a look in the mirror next time. And quite honestly, it's the biggest trend of the 21st century. It causes back pain, neck pain, and headaches for us. It makes us feel tired and it makes us less confident. Yes, it does. It impacts your personality and it impacts how you show up in this world. If you wanna read more about that, how your posture impacts your confidence, you can read all about it. In my book, UN Hunched Discover Wellness Through Posture.
It's on Amazon. I have it available in digital paperback and audiobook formats.
So why do we have this posture? Because the majority of us work on a computer most of the day. So to get a good look on the monitor and for typing, we round our shoulders. Phones and other handheld devices also contribute to maintaining of the rounded shoulders. There are also changes in our environment that support these inefficient holding pattern. For example, cars have rounded sides of the seats. That allow or even force us into rounded shoulders, I actually just noticed my car seats being rounded just like a couple of months ago and I was like, oh my gosh, this is part of the problem. So if you're still wondering if you have rounded shoulders, stand against a wall and notice if your shoulders can touch the wall. If your shoulders don't touch the wall, then you have rounded shoulders or rounded shoulder posture.
Here's the good news. It's fixable. Yes. You're not permanently broken. I'm here to tell you that today I'm going to break down exactly what happens and the three simple moves you can do to fix it. Now, the primary reason your shoulders are rounded is because of a muscle imbalance.
We are gonna dive into that soon, but if you think structurally. Rounded shoulder posture is more about the position of the shoulder blades on the rib cage versus the position of the spine. The shoulder blade, or scapula is actually a floating bone held onto your skeleton by various muscles and two small joints at either end of the collarbone while.
This allows tremendous freedom and mobility of the arms for us. I'm sure you have noticed we can move our arms 360 degrees. It also allows for variable shoulder blade positioning at rest, resulting in many variations of a normal posture, including grounded shoulders.
In terms of muscles, think of it like a tug of war, your chest muscles or your pectorals are too tight, pulling your shoulders forward while your back muscles rhomboids and lower traps specifically are too weak to pull them back.
To fix this, we need to do two things, lengthen the tight chest muscles, and strengthen the weak back muscles.
If you are doing just chest stretches, you're doing only half of the job. You have to strengthen the back to keep the shoulders from sliding forward again.
So here is my three move routine for which you need no equipment. So let's get into these moves. You can do these in your office or your living room. The first move is the doorway pec stretch. This is how it's done. Stand in a doorway. Place your arms on the frame at 90 degrees like a cactus and gently step forward, like throw your body weight forward until you feel a strong stretch across your chest.
Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Breathe deep while holding the stretch and don't let your back arch.
This will help you open up and stretch your chest and shoulder muscles. The second move is to strengthen your back or your upper back more specifically. And I like the W squeeze for that. It strengthens your back muscles. This is how it's done.
Lift your arms to form a letter W shape. Squeeze your shoulder blades down and back like you're trying to hold a pencil between them.
Hold for about 10 seconds. Release the hold and then perform 10 repetitions of the stretch. The third exercise is the chin tuck, which I like to call the desk saver for that. Sit up straight. Look forward. Pull your chin straight back with your two fingers, pressing your chin back into an imaginary wall behind you like you're trying to make a double chin.
Hold for five seconds. Repeat 10 times. This aligns your neck with your spine.
Now, remember, consistency is key for these stretches and exercises. You can't just perform these exercises once , and then expect to sit for eight hours with the compensation pattern. My advice to my patients is to set a timer every hour to do 32nd chest stretches.
I also have this clavicle hook hack for my patients, and I'm gonna share with you guys right here. If you're at your desk, hook your fingers onto your collarbones and then gently pull them up. Backwards. It forces your spine into a better position. And lastly, I love all the wall exercises.
So you can do one for your rounded shoulders too. Lean against a wall. Try to get your head, shoulder blades, and butt to touch it. This is your posture reset, and guess what? You can do a posture reset super easily every hour.
The more often you practice a good posture standing against the wall, the better your posture will become over time. Remember, building better posture takes time, but it's a hundred percent worth it for pain-free living.
You can find many of these stretches and more in my book, UN Hunched, discover Wellness Through Posture. If you found this episode helpful, take a screenshot and share it on your Instagram story and you can tag me with my handle, which is at tone and underscore, strengthen.
Let me know which of the exercises was your favorite. Thanks for listening and keep standing tall. Bye for now.
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