Here’s why sitting is not necessarily the cause of postural problems, aches, pains, injuries etc. And why “HOW YOU SIT” is a much better question to ask yourself if you are serious about longevity and good health.
FACT: Yogi’s have been sitting in meditation for hours upon hours per day for over 5000 years. Fact, they also achieve some of the highest levels of health and longevity recorded here on this planet.
Fast forward to modern day western culture. Office’s, computers, iPads, smartphones, cars, and planes. We are sitting more and more but the problem is we are sitting unconsciously and without awareness of our posture and alignment.
Sitting in meditation with an erect spine and engaging through the bandhas (this basically means engaging your core and pelvic floor muscles) provides supreme lifestyle and health benefits to the modern day, man/woman. This happens as a result of the spine aligning itself in a way that allows for optimal nerve flow and therefore energy.
Sitting correctly in this way will provide you with high levels of focus and concentration.
If we apply these same principles to when we sit at work or during travel we too can reap these benefits, function at a higher level and reduce the chance of injury, pain, and discomfort.
It only takes a small amount of awareness to adjust to better sitting posture and the benefits are profound.
My advice is to sit tall in your chair/seat, press down through your sitting bones, feel the pelvic floor lifting gently and maintain the length of your spine. When you start to feel tired from muscle fatigue, get up, walk it out, and reset yourself before the next period of sitting.
Adding some gentle movements in between sitting periods is also a good idea to keep blood flowing, hydrate the fascia (connective tissue) and loosen up stiffness. This may be gentle squats, hip hinges, hip circles or some marching on the spot.
Keep in mind that when adjusting to this higher level of sitting awareness the musculature we engage to do this will not be conditioned. Therefore you may fatigue quickly, so it’s wise to build up to this gradually.
Standing desks can also be a good option, I recommend having both and switching between them as necessary throughout the day.
Sitting is something the body is designed to do, that’s why we having sitting bones. Sitting correctly can be a small but powerful adjustment to add to your day.
Love to hear your thoughts.
Ash