Today the average office worker sits at their desk for 8-10 hours a day! And that doesn’t count the time at home on the couch so that can be over 12 hours of sitting in one day. That is an insane amount of time sitting on your butt, more than likely in poor posture and limited movement for hours at a time.
When sitting for a prolonged period of time, a chain of physical problems happen.
- Neck and back muscles tense up from holding the upper body up right.
- Spine stiffens from the base of the neck to the tailbone that will eventually lead to an inflexible spine. All muscles surrounding and supporting the spine will tighten up, too. Bad all around.
- Hip flexors contract and shorten causing stress and pain in lower back.
- Tremendous pressure is applied to lower back discs causing compression and possible nerve damage.
- Blood pools in areas not being moved and poor circulation or numbness can occur.
- Weak and saggy glutes causes instability through the hips leading to shooting pain and less power in every day walking and movement.
Need I go on? This is a great visualization of all the negative effects from sitting.
You’re probably sitting right now reading this blog post as I’m sitting writing it. If you are, then stand up, reach your arms up to the ceiling and take a deep breath in. And let’s do these 3 quick stretches to reset your body.
#1 FIGURE 4 HIP STRETCH (Hold for 15 breaths per leg)
TIPS:
- Flex the foot on the leg to stabilize the knee.
- Lean forward with a flat back and keep gaze forward.
- Sit behind your tailbone so the lower back is not rounded.
#2 CAT & COW (Perform for 1 minute)
TIPS:
- Make sure to breathe during each movement.
- Position hands directly under shoulders and knees under hips.
#3 CHEST OPENER (Hold for 15 breaths per side)
TIPS:
- Keep hand in line with shoulder.
- Stand as close to the wall as possible and keep turning to face forward.
Guaranteed this will make you feel so much better. And if done throughout the day, it can be a short meditation to reset your mind, too. Set an alarm on your phone for every 90 minutes to stop your work, get up from your seat and take this stretch break with me. It will prevent possible health risks and physical ailments, which is always a WIN WIN!