This 10-Minute Pilates Routine Will Seriously Rehab Your Pandemic Posture

If your posture is garbage, it’s not always your fault. Human beings weren’t designed to spend their days hunched over various pieces of technology, and they certainly weren’t designed to spend a majority of their time inside their homes for a year with only their screens to keep them company. If your shoulders are permanently slumped as a result of these unfortunate circumstances, Brian Spencer of East River Pilates offers a remedy in the latest episode of Good Moves. 

“Today we will be doing a nice, 10-minute plank for posture series,” says Spencer. “This is just going to help free up and mobilize that mid-back, find a little chest opening, and strengthen those postural muscles and shoulder stabilizers to keep your neck, shoulders, and low back feeling amazing.”

You’d be forgiven for thinking, “Ten minutes of planking? No thank you!” But technically, planks don’t come into the picture until minute six, and the first half of the video looks a lot more like gentle stretching than a taxing workout (shhh!). Plus, says Spencer, you can always feel free to modify the plank if it’s not your jam on any given day.

If you’re not all that motivated to correct your posture—perhaps you, like me, have rebelled against the people who constantly call out your slumped shoulders by defiantly leaning into the hunched-over look—it’s worth noting that poor posture can lead to a host of health problems. Chronic pain—of the back, shoulders, neck, head, jaw, and even foot—tops that list, but bad posture can also lead to digestive issues, breathing difficulties, and poor circulation.

This simple routine, then, packs a lot of bang for your buck given it can help reverse the damage of your day job (and myriad screen addictions) in just 10 minutes. Press play to leave garbage posture in the past.

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