The Desk Worker Mobility Handbook

Shelly Durham is a certified orthopedic exercise specialist and mobility coach based in Portland, Oregon, with over fifteen years of experience helping professionals undo the physical damage of sedentary work. After spending a decade as a software engineer, she experienced firsthand how prolonged sitting creates chronic pain patterns that no amount of weekend warrior exercise can fix. This realization led her to earn certifications in corrective exercise through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and in functional movement screening through the Functional Movement Systems organization.

Durham founded Desk Ready Coaching in 2018, a practice dedicated to bringing mobility education directly into corporate and remote work environments. Her clients have included engineering teams at major technology companies, remote-first startups, and individual professionals ranging from graphic designers to data analysts. She has developed movement protocols used by over two thousand desk workers across North America and Europe.

Her approach combines evidence-based biomechanics with practical, real-world constraints. She does not ask people to overhaul their lives. She asks them to make small, strategic adjustments to the movements they are already doing. This philosophy has made her a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and corporate wellness events.

Durham contributes regularly to *Outside Magazine*'s health section and maintains a popular newsletter, *The Movable Desk*, which reaches thirty thousand subscribers with weekly mobility tips, ergonomic deep dives, and breathing exercises. She lives in Portland with her partner and two rescue dogs, and she still works from a desk—because she believes the best test of a mobility system is whether it works for the person who designed it.

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