Complementary Health Choices || Sponsored by Winter Ridge Market

How many hours a day do you sit? If you are like most Americans, it’s too much. U.S. adults spend, on average, between 4.5 and 5 hours a day sitting.[1] Those who sit more than 11 hours per day have a 40%higher risk of chronic diseases than those who sit fewer than 4 hours per day.[2

A recent article in the New York Times, “The Posture Guru of Silicon Valley,” describes how Esther Gokhale teaches the geeks and executives in Silicon Valley techniques for maintaining better posture. Changing simple behaviors, such as slouching in a C curve verses sitting up relaxed on your sits bones, makes a huge difference.

You need more than good ergonomic furniture. You need to adjust that furniture to fit your body so that there is no strain. Realize that body size and structure vary, what works for your co-worker will probably be different for you. Before buying an expensive ergonomic chair, test drive it. A good office furniture store will guarantee the fit. If after a few days, it doesn’t feel good, try another chair.

Some bodies are so tight and misaligned that postural adjustments, exercise, standard physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments will not work. Those bodies need their soft tissue to be released. The chronic fascial adhesions (or, as I often call it, gristle or scar tissue) from a history of stress, injuries and poor posture needs releasing and realigning--more than a standard massage.

Once you have a new structure, move it. “The more still [you are], the higher [your] risk of chronic diseases.”[3] Sitting “for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level,” says Marc Hamilton, PhD, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri.[4] It’s not just how you sit, it’s how long you sit. You can have the best posture, but still freeze up because you’re not moving. Research shows that an athlete is worse off if she sits all day compared to a nonathletic person who gets up and moves regularly.

Some people are solving this problem by getting stand-up desks and work stations. A client of mine has had one for 4 months and swears by it. “I’m at my computer about 6 hours of my 8-hour day. Since I got the standing desk, I have so much more energy, and I know it’s because I’m standing straighter and breathing better. I don’t get home exhausted anymore. I have a high stool, so I sit if my feet get tired, but as the months have passed I’ve used it less and less. I have a lot less back discomfort, too.” Stand-up desks are inexpensive. If you want to drop a lot of cash, though, you can always join the latest craze: get a desk that has an attached treadmill. NPR recently did a story on that progression of the office space.⁵

The British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that each hour spent watching television after the age of 25 reduces your life expectancy by nearly 22 minutes. To put this into perspective, the authors compared it to smoking – each cigarette reduces your life expectancy by about 11 minutes.[5] To heal and prevent chronic problems – get the best furniture for your body, release your chronic tension, learn from someone who understands natural posture what posture is best for you and move.

Owen Marcus, MA Certified Advanced Rolfer, with 33 yrs experience www.align.org.  Call if you have questions: 265.8440. This article and many more health and wellness articles are at the blog: www.sandpointwellnesscouncil.com. Go to the blog to ask questions or add your comments on any article.

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