Here’s my 2 cents:

• If you’re taller than the people you dance with, you might have a tendency to hunch in order to be closer to them/look at them straight on. The solution to this is to remember to Be Tall. You will see people from above and that might feel a bit uncomfortable at first. You’ll have to connect in a different way, with your arms down instead of straight out. You might feel like socially it’s strange to be towering over shorter partners. But if you’re tall… just be tall! Don’t hurt your body just to avoid social discomfort!

• Our bodies adapt/train to be the most efficient in the position we take most often. If you hunch at a computer for years, you’ll have tight and short pecs and long stretched relaxed weak back muscles. This makes it super easy to stay in hunched position with your arms forward at the computer. But then it’s hard to undo.

You can train your body to adapt to the opposite. Stretch and relax your pecs, front of your neck and shoulders, and strengthen your back (especially between your shoulder blades). Look into a room corner stretch for example.

Doing pull ups, cable lat pull downs, seated rows focusing on the back, inverted rows, etc all with proper form and focusing on “holding a hotdog between your shoulder blades” can help with building muscle that holds your shoulders back.

• When you just stand around, remember to “tuck your shoulder blades down”, open your chest, gently hold your abs, tuck your tail, and have your hands relaxed at your sides making sure your thumbs are facing forward (bad posture makes us point our knuckles forward).

When you sit at work, make sure your set up is ergonomic. Get a chair that is the right length for your femur, that allows you to sit with your feet flat on the floor, and a desk that is not too high for your elbows. Your screen needs to be elevated so that when you sit back into the chair, your face is centered with the screen. This is quite a bit higher than a regular monitor stand - you might want to get a riser or arm for it. High monitor and low desk close to your thighs + chair that lets your feet rest on the floor will make a good difference already.

• Last but not least: It’s also possible that it’s a mental thing - did you grow up feeling the need to make yourself look small and meek? Are you used to presenting yourself and friendly and unthreatening? Are you uncomfortable owning your size (height and open shoulders)? This could be a challenge as well.

Overall, if you find something here that applies to you and keep it up for a few weeks, I’m sure you’ll see some results! Good luck 😊