India, Feb. 12 -- Back-to-back meetings, looming deadlines and hours spent glued to a desk often mean you barely notice how long you've been sitting. Standing up gets postponed, stretches are forgotten, and before you know it, an entire workday has passed in the same chair. But prolonged sitting doesn't just leave you feeling stiff - it can quietly strain your health in multiple ways, particularly your spine. Sitting places more pressure on the lower back than standing, and the longer you remain in one position, the greater that strain becomes. So how should you sit to protect your spine? And is there really such a thing as an "ideal" posture?

Dr Manan Vora, a Mumbai-based orthopaedic surgeon, health educator, and co-founder of NutriByte...