I usually like to write positive type blogs and though this one may not change the world, I trust the following will spur you a little to take action. All too often it is apparent to me that we all spend far too much time sitting in a hunched forward position in front of a PC. It is one of the downfalls of the modern age of technology, we have a worldwide postural crisis happening in just about every house and office in the country and beyond.
One of the easiest things we can do to prevent this, is by bringing our conscious awareness to this fact at any time of the day, take notice that we have been sitting far too long in one position, without moving bodies.
The following are five easy ways you can move your body throughout the day and to add to this I also suggest the following:
- Set the timer every 30 min and when it goes off, stand up and have a stretch
- Sit on a yoga ball in the office if possible
Sitting on a yoga ball does a combination of things to support you!
- It helps you to engage your core muscles as you sit
- It supports you in keeping your sitting posture straight and tall
- It makes you move your hips as you’re working.
Some of the physical problems that are presented through lack of movement and poor sitting posture are the following, but not limited to these ( I didn’t want to scare you too much):-
- Kyphosis of the spine (the development of a hunchback)
- Head moves forward causing strain on the neck and weakened neck muscles
- Diseases of the joints
- headaches & migraines
- Fatigue
- Poor immune system
All of These Conditions Can Cause Pain
All of these conditions can cause either pain, permanent damage, loss of time in business or work, disruption to your activities and family, depression, anxiety, stress or any other number of problems. It is worth your while to pay attention.
Here is The Good News
The good news is if you bring attention and show commitment to yourself to change these poor office and sitting habits in many cases you can correct and reverse many of these conditions, and I fully encourage you to do so. The following are just a few little things you can do in the day, to keep you moving:-
TIP 1: ENGAGE THE PELVIC FLOOR
Engage your pelvic floor muscles regularly. (message me if you need help with this, it is not uncommon to have trouble with engagement) make it easy on yourself by engaging PF on the hour x 10 times. OR try the engage & hold for 15seconds method x 3 times every hour.
TIP 2: SHOULDERS & NECK
Stand, look forward, slowly move your ear towards your shoulder, hold and pull your shoulder down for a stronger stretch. Slowly come up and repeat the other side, repeat this stretch 3 times each side. Roll shoulders up towards ears and then in a rotating pattern, repeat the opposite direction, repeat this stretch 3 times each way.
TIP 3: CORE
This one you can do easy as you sit at your desk. Check your vertical sitting posture, engage your pelvic floor (you’ve been practicing haven’t you?) engage your lower abs, then your centre, hold strong. Place your hands palms up under the desk and push up, hold for 20 seconds and release gently. Repeat 8 times.
TIP 4: BACK
Stand tall, lengthening like you have a piece of string pulling you upwards. Gently bend to right side (maintaining height and alignment in spine) guiding your fingers towards the knees, hold position and breathe. Slowly return to start, reset position and repeat other side.
TIP 5: LEGS
Stand with feet hip distance apart, balanced evenly on balls of feet. Check that your posture is lengthened and strong, keeping back straight squat slowly down towards the floor. Stand-up slowly, reset standing position, repeat squats x 8 times, use your desk for balance if needed
Happy exercising, please get in touch with me if you would like any variations. One of the services that I offer is a full postural assessment, this assessment will support you in identifying the problem areas that you may have and correcting them, see the following link for more information.
This information is of a general nature only, if you have any physical problems or concerns, please speak to your physician, Physiotherapist or Chiropractor. as with any exercise, If you have any pain STOP exercise immediately.
