How To Get Back In Shape
Sitting Posture
New Sitting Posture Habit - Diaphragm
Expansion and Spinal Alignment Exercise:
Snapshot: Take a picture of you sitting at your computer with your cell phone
or web cam. This is your starting point.
Start getting back in shape right here as you
sit! Become aware of your body as you sit at the computer by
asking yourself:
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What is the position of your head and shoulders?
Where are your ribs in relationship to your abdomen?
Is your belt or your bra constricting?
Do you feel tension in your neck and shoulders?
How deeply are you breathing?
Does your breath pass your nose, throat, chest, or
belly?
Do you have any places that feel tight?
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Finding the answers to these questions requires that you begin to
become aware of your body. If you are
surprised by your web cam snapshot, it just means that you are not fully aware of your body positioning.
Because we generally spend a fair amount of time sitting - at the computer, in front of the TV, driving to and
from work - we can improve the shape we’re in by just sitting better!
Try a New Sitting Posture:
- 1.
Roll your pelvis
forward until your lift off of your tail bone &
sit onto your sits
bones (or ischial tuberosities,
the bones that you feel if you put your hands under your buttocks as you
sit).
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- 2. Lift your lower ribs off of you abdomen. (It's an
elongation feeling with upwards motion.)
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- 3.
Take a deep breath allowing
your belly (your diaphragm) to expand instead of using your
chest and neck muscles.
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- 4. This frees
your neck and shoulder muscles to drop back and
down.
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- 5. Then just
tuck your chin in a bit.
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Viola! You have just aligned your spine and internal organs,
eased stresses on your joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons and started your body on a positive trend over
time rather than on a negative trend. And you have begun to discover your "core".
In short, you have just taken a first step in body
awareness, which is a crucial step in getting back in
shape.
Next step: Avoid long period of
sitting without breaks.
Why? The more you sit, the more likely you are to develop a chronic
disease.* Recent research shows that even if you get your 30
minutes of moderate exercise per day, if you sit for prolonged periods without getting up to move around,
your chances of getting a metabolic disease, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease increase.
Minimize the effects of sitting:
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The Back Vitalizer
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- Stand up for short periods after every 20 minutes of
sitting.
- Try sitting on an exercise ball to increase movement
of your pelvis and spine, as well as the contraction of postural trunk
muscles.
- Or sit on the back vitalizer, which gives you similar
benefits of sitting on a ball, without the risk of falling
off. The Back
Vitalizer can also be used as shown as a
lumbar cushion for back support.
- Set a timer to assure that you get up from your seat
every 20 minutes. Move around to get your circulation going.
Too Much
Sitting: a novel and important
predictor of chronic disease risk?
Br J Sports Med 2009;43:81-83 doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.0552 69
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