What is sitting doing to us?
1. It turns off most of the abdominal muscles.
2. It over works the back muscles (when posture is controlled otherwise it just stresses the spine).
3. It over stretches the spinal ligaments.
4. It stresses the back portion of the spinal discs.
5. It shortens the very popular Psoas muscle.
6. It shortens the hamstring muscles.
7. It shortens the calf muscles.
8. It reduces blood circulation by restricting the vessels in the groin area.
9. It slows down lymph flow by restricting lymph nodes and vessels in the groin area.
10. It stresses the neck by making it more difficult to keep our neck in neutral.
etc...etc...etc...etc...etc...etc...
So what do we do?
1. Interrupt sitting as much as possible, at least every 30 minutes by stretching or walking for a few seconds.
2. Work standing up as much as possible. If you think this is unrealistic think of the cashiers at Publix or nurses, who are on their feet all day.
3. Change posture as often as possible or at least every 30 minutes.
4. Walk every day for at least 20 minutes.
5. Try sitting on a ball... is great for posture, but remember your hips must be higher than your knees, so get the right size ball (I like gimmic plus, which you can order from www.optp.com).
