ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Stress, Posture & Desk Work: Simple Somatic Techniques to Reduce Tension and Burnout
Host Brittany Canaski interviews Workstation Wellness Consultant Anne Asher about how stress and long hours at a desk affect physical wellbeing and contribute to burnout.Anne shares her background in movement and chronic pain work and explains why good equipment helps but movement and body awareness are essential. She gives practical desk-alignment guidance and emphasizes gentle habit-building over“perfect posture.” Anne leads two subtle techniques for desk workers: a slow, relaxed “hissing” exhale to calm the nervous system and an ear-finger cue with a small nod to reset head/neck alignment. She also recommends frequent shortmovement breaks to support energy, focus, and long-term health.
Key takeaways:
✅ When we 'park' our bodies for 8 hours a day while working, we're not listening to what our body needs.
✅ Posture alignment is more than just having the right desk or chair, you need to consider your sitting bones, balanced weight, feet flat, supportive lumbar support, monitor at eye level, arms and elbows positioned comfortably, and separate your laptop screen from keyboard.
✅ Instead of trying to have 'perfect' posture all the time, start with small 10 second reminders and wins throughout the day.
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⏱️ What we covered in this video:
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:04 Anne’s Wellness Journey
04:32 Stress Burnout and Movement
09:37 Checking In With Your Body
12:12 Desk Alignment Basics
18:47 Upper Body Setup Tips
23:49 Common Tension Hotspots
26:48 Gentle Posture Rewiring
27:39 Hissing Breath Demo
32:37 Make It Work Anywhere
34:35 Movement Breaks Matter
38:53 Brittany's Couch Work Cautionary Tale
42:12 Posture And Productivity
45:14 Head and Neck Reset Demo
48:18 Build Daily Check Ins
50:07 Resources And Wrap Up
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👋 Connect with Anne:
- Download the free e-book: Pain Free @ the Desk in 5Minutes https://posturally.com/f/painfree-desk-5
- Posture Scan for Desk Workers: https://posturally.com/courses/posture-scan
- Connect with Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneasher/
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🙋🏻♀️ About the host, Brittany Canaski
Brittany Canaski is a highly-rated leadership coach and trainer who helps leaders build the skills and confidence they need to be their best.
Within her own business, Hello Velocity, Brittany provides coaching, trainings, and events to help teams and individualsbetter understand their performance habits so that they can work smarter, not harder to get where they want to be. Some of her favorite leadership topics are strategic planning, prioritization, and accountability.
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👋 Connect with Brittany:
- Instagram - @HelloVelocityCo
- Website - https://www.hellovelocity.co/
- YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@hellovelocityco
