Aesha Tahir is the founder of Tone and Strengthen, a corporate wellness company, as well as an author and exercise physiologist. Her book, Unhunched: Discovering Wellness Through Posture, is set for release this Spring. Today, Aesha shares how posture impacts the stress system and burnout recoverability. 

Aesha is no stranger to burnout after having experienced it twice. Her first experience led her to the ER, fearful that she was having a stroke when her left foot went completely numb. It turned out that her stressful highly sedentary corporate lifestyle coupled with being a wife and mother was causing sciatica. She spent 12 hours at work slouching and all day stressing out about her responsibilities while ignoring her body’s signals for help until she literally had no choice but to listen. When she had her second child, Aesha decided to step back from work and got more active. Within six months of being more active, her back pain was gone even though she was caring for a newborn. Being pain free was not the only benefit either. As Aesha worked on her posture and stopped slouching and unknowingly taking a submissive stance, people began to compliment her and view her as more confident.

Body language accounts for 93% of all communication. So it is important to set yourself up for success through having good posture. Slouching puts stress on your nervous system and causes it to activate flight or fight mode, increasing your risk for burnout. Tune into today’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Aesha Tahir on how posture affects the stress system and what steps you can take to improve it today.

Quotes

• “A lot of times we are not aware of what's happening within our bodies.” (9:17-9:21 | Aesha)

• “When I started working out regularly, and I removed the excessive stress from my life, now I had the room to understand and be in tune with my body.” (9:53-10:06 | Aesha)

• “93% of the communication is through body language. So, is your body language set up for success or not?” (15:32-15:40 | Aesha)

• “When we have this rounded shoulder posture or hunched over posture, literally we are collapsing our lungs and our diaphragm.” (20:12-20:19 | Aesha)

• “When you have poor posture the stress center in our brain, which we call the red nucleus, responds to the physical poor posture and activates the sympathetic nervous system.” (30:49-31:05 | Aesha)

• “You can use your posture, your body language, for success, not just physically, not just to be pain free, but also to step into the greatness of your own being.” (40:15-40:30 | Aesha) 

Links

https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are/comments

www.toneandstrengthen.com

https://www.instagram.com/tone_and_strengthen/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeshatahir/

https://unhunched.ck.page/ecf6947f70

Convertible Desk: https://www.amazon.com/VIVO-Converter-Adjustable-Workstation-DESK-V028KB/dp/B0BGYGTSR5/ref=pd_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=ZG4Z5&content-id=amzn1.sym.1bcf206d-941a-4dd9-9560-bdaa3c824953&pf_rd_p=1bcf206d-941a-4dd9-9560-bdaa3c824953&pf_rd_r=3SZ9QRR6YD717QCZKHBP&pd_rd_wg=3jvQv&pd_rd_r=b73baebf-13dd-43b5-81cd-ef276cdd273a&pd_rd_i=B0BGYGTSR5

Connect with Cait:

Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

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