In Defense of Sitting

You’ve likely heard that sitting is one of the great evils of modern times; it’s even been compared to smoking. But even cavemen sat, didn’t they? Let’s take a closer look at sitting to understand why it has gotten so much bad press recently, and how you can avoid its pitfalls (and still take a load off every now and then!)

It’s not so much that you sit, but where you sit, and for how long, that matters.

The problem with sitting begins with the use of chairs. Specifically, most modern chairs get us high off the ground and put our hips and knees at right angles while giving us a back support to lean against.

The challenge is that in the information age, most of us spend the majority of our time in a chair in some fashion, such as when we sit to work, commute to the office, relax on sofas and even when we eat our meals. All of this combined sitting adds up in the body, and contributes to stiffness in the joints, loss of postural stability, and ultimately loss of overall mobility in the body.

This means we get up and down from the ground less often, which ultimately diminishes the full potential of our hips, knees, and ankles. To further complicate the issue, the back rest, though convenient, allows us to relax our postural muscles as we lean against it, which effectively turns off important spinal stabilizers.

So what can you do?

Try some variety with how and where you sit including the floor, a log or low stool, even on a bean bag (remember those?) Change position when it becomes uncomfortable, and challenge yourself. Meaning, get creative as to where else you could possibly sit and how long can you stay there until it becomes uncomfortable, and you need to shift your position.

Solving the sitting conundrum can be easy if you get creative. If you want more practical examples and need a little extra help with some of those aches and pains associated with spending too much time on your haunches, join our online Mobility & Stretch class on Friday mornings at 10.

We can give your body what it needs to stay healthy and mobile, even in a fast-paced modern world!