Reclaiming Movement in a Seated World: A New Way to Sit, Work, and Live
We’re living in a time when sitting has become the default for almost everything—working, relaxing, even staying connected. From office chairs to smartphones, our environments are shaping not just how we move, but how little we move. The result? A culture of stillness, strain, and disconnection from our own bodies.
At HUMOMA (Human Movement Management), we’re here to challenge the idea that sitting has to mean slouching, stiffness, or spinal stress. This blog series is a deep dive into a simple but radical idea: movement matters more than mechanics. It’s not about finding the “perfect” chair or the “correct” posture. It’s about learning to move well—especially in the place we spend so much time: sitting.
Each post explores a key part of modern seated life—from the shape of your chair to where you place your screen, from how you scroll your phone to how you stand up from it all. Along the way, we’ll show you how small shifts in awareness and action can lead to big changes in comfort, coordination, and vitality.
This isn’t ergonomic advice. It’s embodied education.
To give you a preview of what’s ahead, let’s start with something you do every day, all your life: breathing. Specifically, we’ll look at how your breath is affected by how you sit. First, we’ll explore the connection between seated posture and breathing mechanics, then guide you through a simple exercise you can try right now in your chair.
Why Your Breath Suffers When You Sit Poorly
One of the fastest ways poor sitting posture impacts your health is through your breathing. When you slouch or collapse into your chair, it affects three key aspects of your respiratory system:
1. Respiratory Efficiency
When you slump, your rib cage compresses and your diaphragm loses space to move. This limits lung expansion and forces you to rely on your upper chest and neck muscles to breathe—an inefficient, tiring way to get air.
2. Physiological Capacity
Over time, shallow breathing patterns reduce your ability to take in oxygen. Your breathing muscles weaken or adapt in unhelpful ways. This affects your endurance, energy levels, and your ability to move well.
At HUMOMA, we often say: Movement capacity begins with breath capacity.
3. Blood Chemistry
Shallow breathing often turns into over-breathing, which lowers carbon dioxide levels in your blood. That disrupts pH balance and makes it harder for oxygen to reach your tissues. This is part of what’s known as the Bohr effect. The symptoms? Foggy thinking, fatigue, and even anxiety.
In short, posture isn’t just about your spine—it directly shapes your internal chemistry, your energy, and your readiness to move.
Want to Start Shifting Your Sitting Experience Today?
Sign up for our weekly blog series at HUMOMA
Join us as we rethink the chair—and help you reclaim your body, one seated moment at a time.
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HUMOMA | Human Movement Management
Move well. Live fully.
References for the Curious of Mind
Kim, J. H., Lee, J. H., & Lee, Y. S. (2023). The effects of prolonged sitting on pulmonary function and posture in adults. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 35(1), 1–5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11079380/
Noury, M., Brouillard, C., Bair, W. N., Rice, L. A., & Neptune, R. R. (2018). Influence of body position on pulmonary function: A systematic review. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 18(1), 159. https://bmcpulmmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12890-018-0723-4
Kim, D. H., & Lee, S. Y. (2018). The effects of the backrest design on pulmonary function in sitting posture. Journal of Korean Physical Therapy, 30(3), 96–100. https://www.kptjournal.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.18857/jkpt.2018.30.3.96
Physiopedia. (n.d.). The effect of posture on the diaphragm. https://www.physio-pedia.com/The_Effect_of_Posture_on_the_Diaphragm
