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Hello @elisabethajgmail-com ;
So, I think @Kitman ‘s response is great and covers much of the subject. Many smaller people adopt the classical position as it is much more ergonomic.
However, as Kit said, pushing the neck forward is another way to relieve that stress on the shoulder of the right arm going around the guitar.
I think Kit’s exercises might be one of the best things you could do because the most important thing is to get rid of all tension.
Finally, it is true that playing with a strap standing up completely changes the whole thing. One of the reasons is that the guitar will tilt and won’t be straight up and down. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you keep your head tall and don’t look at the fretboard. That way, you will learn to be a better guitar player. And when you are learning something, you only have to bend over and look at the fretboard for a short period of time.
So again, the most important: keep you head up and don’t look at the fretboard.
One last thought: if all else fails, get a smaller guitar. Smaller bodies help, but especially thinner bodied guitars are much easier.
MG 😀