Power SittingTM
A Position Paper on the Next Evolution of Sitting, Health, and Human Performance
By Dr. Scott Donkin
Executive Position
Power SittingTM is a new, original, and transformative concept that reframes sitting from a passive, health-compromising necessity into an active, skill-based, health-enhancing practice. It is not a chair, a product, or a trend. It is a way of sitting – intentional, upright, dynamically balanced, and neurologically engaged – that restores sitting to its rightful role as a contributor to strength, resilience, clarity, confidence, and well-being.
Power Sitting stands at the intersection of posture, movement, awareness, ergonomics, and human potential. It represents the most advanced expression of sitting skill yet articulated, designed for modern life and validated daily through lived experience, clinical insight, and practical application.
This paper formally establishes Power Sitting as an original term, a distinct body of thought, and a publicly declared intellectual property, authored and introduced by Dr. Scott Donkin, and published here as part of the historical record and foundation for trademark development.
Why Power Sitting Had to Be Named
For decades, sitting has been blamed as “the new smoking.” Chairs have been blamed. Desks have been blamed. Screens have been blamed.
Sitting itself is not the problem.
Unskilled sitting is.
Most people have never been taught how to sit well. As a result, they default into slumping – a posture that diminishes breathing, collapses spinal integrity, dulls neuromuscular engagement, and quietly invites fatigue, discomfort, and sedentary decline.
Power Sitting exists because language matters.
What we cannot name clearly, we cannot teach effectively, practice intentionally, or improve consistently.
Power Sitting gives a name, identity, and elevated standard to a way of sitting that is:
- Upright without rigidity
- Stable without stiffness
- Relaxed without collapse
- Energizing rather than draining
It names what has been missing.
Defining Power Sitting
Power Sitting is the intentional practice of sitting with:
- A balanced pelvis
- A naturally aligned spine
An upright, buoyant torso - Active postural tone rather than passive collapse
- Neural readiness, not restlessness
- Ease with strength, not tension
Power Sitting is not about sitting still.
It is about sitting alive.
It is the seated equivalent of standing tall, grounded, and confident – without leaving the chair.
Power Sitting Within the Sitting Continuum
Human sitting exists along a continuum of skill and awareness:
- Slumped Sitting
Passive, collapsed, energy-draining, and neurologically dull. - Upright Sitting
Balanced, supportive, restorative, and health-positive. - Power Sitting
The advanced expression – where posture, intention, neuromuscular engagement, and awareness converge.
Power Sitting builds upon upright sitting and elevates it into a performance posture – not for strain or display, but for sustainable human excellence.
What Makes Power Sitting Different
Power Sitting is not:
- A chair design
- A rigid “perfect posture”
- A military stance
- A temporary pose
- A gimmick or quick fix
Power Sitting is:
- A learnable skill
- Adaptable to virtually any seat
- Sustainable across time and environments
- Applicable to work, learning, travel, conversation, recovery, and creativity
- A bridge between physical posture and mental state
It recognizes that posture is not merely structural – it is neurological, emotional, and behavioral.
The Mind-Body Intelligence of Power Sitting
How you sit changes:
- How you breathe
- How you feel
- How you think
- How long you can focus
- How resilient you remain over time
Power Sitting naturally supports:
- Improved breathing mechanics
- Enhanced alertness and mood
- Reduced musculoskeletal strain
- Greater confidence and presence
- A subtle but powerful sense of capability
It is a posture that communicates readiness to the nervous system – without force, without effort, without fatigue.
Power Sitting in Modern Life
Power Sitting is especially relevant now.
We sit to:
- Work
- Learn
- Create
- Communicate
- Travel
- Recover
- Lead
Power Sitting transforms these seated hours from liabilities into opportunities for reinforcement rather than erosion of health and capacity.
It allows people to:
- Sit longer without paying for it later
- Use sitting as a training ground, not a trap
- Maintain vitality even in seated professions
- Reclaim agency over a daily behavior previously considered harmful or unavoidable
Originality and Authorship Statement
The term Power Sitting, its conceptual framework, definitions, positioning, and applications, are original to Dr. Scott Donkin and arise from decades of clinical practice, ergonomic expertise, occupational health consultation, and the development of the broader Sitting Fit paradigm.
This position paper serves as:
- Public documentation of first use
- Clear articulation of meaning and scope
- Evidence of intentional authorship and publication
- Foundational material for trademark protection
No portion of this work is copied from or derived from other authors’ proprietary frameworks. While Power Sitting aligns naturally with principles of biomechanics, posture, and human performance, its synthesis, naming, structure, and application are uniquely authored and presented here.
The Larger Vision
Power Sitting is not the end of the story.
It is:
- A doorway into healthier daily habits
- A re-education of something humans do every day
- A reclaiming of sitting as a positive, empowering behavior
- A scalable concept applicable to individuals, workplaces, schools, healthcare, and public health
Power Sitting invites a simple but profound shift:
From enduring sitting
to mastering it.
Closing Declaration
Power Sitting is the skillful art of sitting with strength, ease, awareness, and intention.
- It honors the intelligence of the human body.
- It respects the realities of modern life.
- It replaces fear with capability.
- It transforms a necessity into an asset.
This is not about sitting less.
It is about sitting better.
And sitting better changes everything.
© Dr. Scott Donkin. Power SittingTM is an original concept and designation publicly introduced and published on scottdonkin.info.