5 Exercises to Improve Your Posture and Relieve Back Pain

Your back has been trying to get your attention — that dull ache between the shoulder blades, the stiffness that greets you every morning, the tension that quietly builds until it's all you can think about by mid-afternoon. You're not imagining it, and you're not alone in it.

For most Montrealers, the conditions for postural trouble are baked right into daily life. Long winters spent hunched over laptops, rides on the STM where you're scrolling with your shoulders creeping up toward your ears, evenings collapsed on the couch after a draining day — over time, these habits don't just cause discomfort. They fundamentally change how your musculoskeletal system functions. Muscles that should be active go dormant. Muscles that should be resting end up carrying everything. What follows is a cycle of tension, compensation, and pain that no amount of reminding yourself to sit up straight seems to break. The problem isn't your willpower. It's that your body has adapted to positions it was never meant to hold for so long.

Imagine waking up tomorrow and actually feeling at ease in your body — moving through your morning routine, your commute, your workday without that familiar drag in your lower back or the knot that seems to live permanently between your shoulder blades. Better posture means deeper breathing, more sustained energy, fewer tension headaches, and a body that genuinely supports you through your day rather than working against you. That kind of ease isn't reserved for people who never sit at desks. It's available to you, and it starts with the right movement habits.

The five exercises below target the key structures involved in postural support — your deep core, your thoracic spine, your hip flexors, and the muscles of your upper back. They require no equipment, take about 15 minutes combined, and can be done in your living room whether it's a frozen February morning or a humid August evening. Start with three sessions per week and give your body four to six weeks to begin responding in a meaningful way.

1. The Plank

The plank is one of the most efficient exercises for developing the deep core stability your spine depends on to stay upright and pain-free. Begin in a push-up position with your hands directly beneath your shoulders, or come down onto your forearms for a gentler variation. Engage your abdominals, squeeze your glutes lightly, and hold your body in a straight line from head to heel. Start with 20 to 40 seconds and work toward 60 seconds as your strength builds. Quality matters far more than duration here — a well-held 20-second plank is worth considerably more than a sagging 60-second one. This exercise specifically activates the transverse abdominis and multifidus muscles, both of which are critical for maintaining a neutral lumbar spine throughout the day.

2. Cat-Cow Stretch

Rooted in yoga, this gentle spinal mobilization works beautifully as a morning warm-up or a midday reset. Come onto your hands and knees with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. On an inhale, let your belly drop toward the floor, lift your tailbone and chest, and open your collarbone — this is cow. On an exhale, press into your hands, round your spine toward the ceiling, and tuck your chin and pelvis — this is cat. Move slowly and deliberately between the two for 10 to 15 full breath cycles. Cat-cow restores mobility to the thoracic and lumbar segments of your spine, lubricates the facet joints, and gently releases the paraspinal muscles that tend to lock up after long periods of sitting. It's one of the most low-effort, high-return movements you can add to your day.

3. Shoulder Blade Squeeze

Rounded shoulders are among the most common postural patterns we see — almost inevitable when you spend hours at a keyboard or looking down at your phone. This exercise reactivates the middle and lower trapezius muscles, which are responsible for drawing your shoulder blades back and down into proper alignment. Sit or stand with your arms relaxed at your sides. Gently draw your shoulder blades toward each other and slightly downward, as if you were holding a small object between them. Hold for three to five seconds, then release fully. Repeat 12 to 15 times. You should feel the work between your shoulder blades, not in your neck. If tension starts creeping up into your upper traps, soften your shoulders away from your ears before each repetition.

4. Hip Flexor Stretch

Tight hip flexors are one of the most overlooked contributors to lower back pain. When these muscles — particularly the iliopsoas — become shortened through prolonged sitting, they pull the pelvis into an anterior tilt, which increases the lumbar curve and creates chronic compression in the lower spine. To stretch them, come into a half-kneeling position with one knee on the floor and the opposite foot forward. Keep your torso tall, gently tuck