"Bad Posture" doesn’t cause pain, so can we stop obsessing over it?
Let’s get this out of the way up front: there is no such thing as perfect posture.
Yep. We said it.
The myth that there’s one ideal way to sit, stand, or move and that any deviation from that causes pain is not only outdated, it’s actively unhelpful. So let’s unpack where this belief comes from, why it persists, and what you can focus on instead to actually feel better in your body.
Where did the posture panic come from?
The obsession with “perfect posture” is rooted in old-school biomechanics, military influence, and a long history of aesthetic ideals, none of which hold up under modern science.
Somewhere along the line, posture became moralised. If you slouched, you were lazy. If your shoulders rolled forward, you were doing it wrong. And if you had pain? Must be your posture.
But here’s the thing: posture isn’t predictive of pain.
There’s no solid evidence that sitting “badly” causes back pain—or that standing “correctly” prevents it.
So why do we feel pain when we sit or move a certain way?
Because duration, repetition, and context matter way more than alignment.
Pain is complex. It’s influenced by your nervous system, your activity levels, your sleep, your stress, and yes, sometimes the way you move, but not because of angles and symmetry. Because of load and variability.
Sitting still for 6 hours - even in “perfect” posture - can still make you feel stiff or sore.
Moving dynamically in different ways, even in "less than perfect" alignment, builds capacity, adaptability, and resilience.
Posture policing helps no one
When we teach people to fear “bad” posture, we create tension, hyper-vigilance, and self-doubt around how they move. And that’s the opposite of what movement is supposed to do.
At Feel Better Pilates, we teach from a place of curiosity and confidence, not fear.
We want you to explore movement, not avoid it.
We’ll offer options, variety, and education. Never shame.
What to focus on instead:
Change positions regularly – your best posture is your next posture.
Strengthen through variety – move in all directions, at different speeds, with different loads.
Pay attention to what feels good – pain and discomfort are real, but they’re not moral failings.
Ditch the guilt – you don’t have to “fix” your posture to feel strong and capable.
Final thoughts:
There’s no magic alignment that makes you bulletproof.
But there is magic in moving with intention, strength, and self-trust.
Pilates can help with that, not because it fixes your posture, but because it gives you tools to move more, move differently, and move fearlessly.
Let’s stop chasing “perfect” posture and start building confident, adaptable movers instead.
Need the research?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31451200/
https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2019.0610