Did you know about the serious health consequences of “the sitting disease”?
Yes, the American Medical Association has labeled something the average adult does for 13 to 15 hours a day a disease!
“Because we spend almost 80% of our waking day sitting, how we sit also influences our spine flexibility, standing posture, even the health of our breathing,” according to Sharon Duffey, PT, FCP, founder of SmartBody50.com.
Ask yourself:
· What kind of furniture do you sit on?
· Do you know HOW you sit?
· How do you know when you're in “good posture”?
We’ve been taught to sit up straight, but what does that look like? When we apply unnecessary or misplaced effort, we impose wear and tear on our spine. Office chairs that fix us in supposed “good posture” make matters worse, since healthy sitting is dynamic, NOT static.
Less-than-ideal daily sitting habits accelerate the aging of our spine discs, bone and ligaments, contributing to more serious pathology. Think degenerative joint disease, disc problems, spinal stenosis and osteoporotic fractures. Healthy dynamic posture protects our spine!
HEALTHY SITTING POSTURE IS DYNAMIC!
You might have heard that our center of gravity and the location of our largest muscles is the pelvis. It’s where the body’s innate and intelligent bio-mechanical design has put our power center. What you probably don’t know is that it’s also the body part that drives dynamic, healthy sitting. Sitting directly on top of our sitting bones automatically aligns the spine in proper position. These bones serve as a great reference point since they’re easy to feel. Then our posture muscles can do their job to develop core strength and a stronger spine.
But first, how do you sit easily, especially when unsupported? Here you’ll learn specific pelvic motions that will allow the spine and nearby joints to move more fluidly and more in sync so that sitting upright will ultimately become effortless.
10 STEPS TO HEALTHY SITTING
Pick a firm chair with the correct height*, so that that when you sit, your hips are slightly higher than your knees
Identify your sitting bones and sit on top of them – feet flat, knees at 90o
Place a hand on your sternum; let your thumb and fingertip rest on your collarbones
Moving easily and gently, relax your back/chest. Allow your pelvis to rock back, behind your sitting bones
Feel your chest sink down in front, and feel your neck and back round out like the letter “C”
Then, rock the pelvis forward to the sitting bones, allowing your spine and head to straighten
If there is ANY strain or discomfort, make the movements slower and much smaller
Do 5-7 reps, reducing your effort and making it easier each time
Finish by staying on your sitting bones while relaxing your back muscles – let the spine remain straight to support your upper body weight, allowing for easy belly breathing
Go through these steps every 15-30 minutes while sitting to reinforce relaxed upright sitting posture!
* Initial learning of proper movement mechanics comes easier on a higher chair
If you found this tough, it’s okay. It takes practice and patience to train your body to do anything new. Any other difficulties are best addressed with one-on-one guidance from a trained SmartBody coach.
To find out more about SmartBody, join a Zoom class for free!
You can also schedule an interactive talk at your community center with SmartBody’s founder, Sharon Duffey, PT, FCP, Physical Improvement & Pain Relief Expert.
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