You’re Stuck in the Car, You’re Stuck at your desk.
Its stinks, but it’s part of life.
Here’s how to make the most of it!
The more we sit, the more our body adapts and gets comfortable with this position. We then develop chronic pain because our body wasn’t designed to be stuck in this position so much. Not only that, but it becomes challenging for us to get into other positions because we are never in them. We are all a sum of our habits.
Someone that does handstands everyday can do a handstand pretty easily. They are pretty darn hard, if even possible, if you never do them. Apply that idea to standing tall and opening up your hips. Stuck in a chair = hard to stand tall with open shoulders and hips that fully extend.
The majority of our members all tend to find themselves in the same positions day in and day out …
– Sitting at an office desk
– Hunched over a phone
– Bent over a steering wheel while driving a car/ or sitting on the train
We know these hunched over and seated positions can screw up your body when you are stuck for an extended amount of time…
– Hips become stuck in shortened position
– Shoulders round forward
– Upper back rounds forward
– Hamstrings stuck in lengthened position
Blah blah blah..
How can we help ourselves?
Here are some easy things to do over the course of the day to help reset ourselves and be in better balance.
Sit in a Better Position
Sounds simple but hard to do. If it was easy you would already be doing it. If you can find a chair that will make you sit straighter, use it. Or, set up a game with a coworker. Every time they catch you in a slouched position, you owe them $5 and vise versa. Pay up at the end of the day. If you are constantly paying out at the end of the day I bet you will begin to change your habits.
Set a Timer to Move
The longer we sit, the more we sink into that crappy posture.
Set a timer on your phone or desktop to get up and move, try every 30 minutes. It sounds simple and it is! Just get up and move. If you are drinking as much water as you should be, it will be about time to go to the loo anyway. Within the few minutes you are up and standing, you can find a position opposite of the one you were just in, Tall and Proud!
Roll in Your Chair
Don’t have the opportunity to stand? Here’s another way to regain touch with the ground.
1. Find your feet
2. Secure your heels to the ground
3. Using your hamstrings, pull yourself into your desk
4. Now, using your quads, push away from desk.
DO it slowly with lots of force through your feet. Try 15 or 20 good ones. Want to have some fun with it? See how fast you can go.
This doesn’t count……..
Neither does this but this is a good way to get up and move…
Grip the Desk
Ever have that feeling you want to break your keyboard? Well, maybe you should. For those of you bent over all day (at the computer, over telephones, over steering wheels in the car, over machinery), you’re living in internal rotation. This is a closed down position, think rolled in. It is a weak and relaxed position.
Here’s a great way to get out of it and into external rotation:
1. Grab your desk with each hand.
2. Squeeze hard and try to crush it. You can do this standing or seated or both.
3. Crank out 3-5 squeezes, each lasting 10 seconds
This can help restore the function of your upper back, postural muscles. It may also eliminate some nagging neck and upper shoulder pain and provide some nedded stress relief.
Move Your Stuff
Always having your stuff (mouse, phone, computer screen, coffee, easy button) in the same spot helps create your habits and forces you into the same positions. Use this as an opportunity to challenge yourself. Criss cross your office and move things around by putting your phone and mouse and other frequently used things in a new position. Even better put some things in a place where you are forced to get up to use them.
If this is your office you will also get a workout as you move things around…
Stand Up and Breath
If you are a Core Principles member use your diaphragmatic breathing that we work on at the beginning of each of our sessions. Think expand your rib cage 360 degrees and then exhale all that used air. You can even do it seated if you can’t stand for some reason. Full inhales will help roll you into a more upright position and get your deep core muscles to awaken from the sleep they were in while seated at your desk. It should make you feel pretty good. This may be the closest thing to a reset button we know.
Frankly just try something new to break up your routine. It will be challenging at first, changing any habit is hard at first. Set yourself up for success by using an alarm as a reminder or find a co-worker to help keep you accountable. Your body will thank you.
