In modern day society, the average person sits 8-12 hours per day. Unfortunately, too much sitting is as damaging to your spine as too much candy is to your teeth. Our ancestors walked 15 miles per day which strengthened the back and countered the effects of sitting. However, walking 15 miles per day is not realistic for most of us. We need to learn to sit in a way that helps our body instead of hurting it.
Esther Gokhale is a Licensed Acupuncturist who teaches proper posture. She learned what natural posture looks like by studying people who live in tribes similar to how our ancestors lived. In her book, “8 Steps to a Pain Free Back” she discusses proper postures that help take pressure off your back and increase vitality. The first step to a pain-free back is stretch-sitting. Stretch-sitting helps to take the pressure off your lumbar discs and helps enhance the natural curves of your spine. I recommend this posture for anyone, especially those with a desk job or who have a previous history of lumbar disc herniation. Please click on the picture or the link below to watch this 2-miute video on the proper way to sit for prolonged amounts of time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9CDhcVTAdc
Practice stretch-sitting at work, in the car and on the couch! When you stretch-sit, you should feel comfortable and not tense. If you are in the right position, you should be able to sit like this for prolonged periods of time without getting tired. If you are tired, re-watch the video, or come see me so we can determine if you are missing a component. At first it may feel awkward, but over time it becomes uncomfortable to sit any other way!
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