Some health experts suggest that sitting is the new smoking. If you sit for more than three to four hours per day, which is very common, your body is most likely not functioning as well as it could be. Fortunately, there are various exercises and movements that can help you whip it back into shape. No need to feel tightness in the hips, back, and neck every single day!
Believe it or not, sitting down every day can cause long-lasting damage. You sit on your way to work, you sit at work, and then you sit on your way home from work. You may even sit once you get home from work! A sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of cancer, arthritis, obesity, heart disease, accelerate aging, and muscular tightness.
Unfortunately, one workout session every now and again will not counteract all of that sitting. Paying a little more attention to how much you sit can help you change your lifestyle habits. Maybe you stand up at your desk a little more or go for a walk on your lunch. To get you started, engage in these daily habits and mobility movements to help correct all that sitting.
Hinge, Hold, And Stretch
This pose requires some mild body awareness, as it focuses on the concept of the hip hinge. It may take some practice to get it right, but it is highly beneficial for people with desk jobs. Stand up straight with your feet hip-distance apart. Keep a slight bend in your knees and hinge at the hips to lean forward slightly, maintaining a straight back. At a certain point, you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings, but make sure not to round your back. You can extend your arms out overhead to keep them in line with your back. Hold this pose for 10 to 30 seconds, ensuring you keep that back straight. Extend the time as you get stronger.
Breathe
This sounds like a silly movement exercise, but dysfunctional breathing is a commonly overlooked issue. Dysfunctional breathing patterns include mouth breathing and upper chest breathing, instead of diaphragmatic (belly) breathing. Sitting down lends itself to poor breathing habits, which is why we encourage you to lie flat on your back for diaphragmatic breathing. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Close your eyes and imagine that there is a balloon in your belly. As you inhale through your nose, imagine inflating the belly. As you exhale, the belly should go down. You can do this for a while, counting four to five seconds per inhale and exhale. It will take some practice, but it is greatly beneficial for the nervous system and stress response.
Take A Walk
Walking is one of the most underrated, easily accessible exercises that anyone can do at any time. A lot of people can increase their level of physical activity if they just walk for 30 to 60 minutes per day. All it takes is making a few small tweaks to your daily routine. If you sit for the majority of your day, consider a morning walk, lunch walk, and even a small walk after dinner. Park farther away from your job and walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you enjoy sitting down to read, consider listening to audiobooks while on a walk. All of that movement will benefit you in the long run.
Deep Squat
The deep squat is a great exercise for opening the hips. It is both a mobility and stability exercise and is quite easy to do as a child, but becomes more difficult as life compromises your range of motion with age. If you are a little stiff, the body will compensate during this exercise in the form of your heels lifting off the floor. For this reason, you may want to do this exercise with support in front of you to keep from falling. Begin by standing straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower down into a deep squat, maintaining a straight back. Make sure your knees don’t extend beyond your toes. You can press your elbows against the insides of your legs for support. Hold this position for a couple minutes before returning to the starting position.
Get Off The Couch
How is this a movement? Well, you do not need to adopt the same position at home that you did in the office all day. Challenge yourself to not sit on the couch for one to two weeks, or even a month, while you watch TV in your spare time. You don’t have to clean your whole house while watching TV, but perhaps you engage in some yoga, stretching, or mobility drills instead. Just try not to sit on your couch and see how your body responds.
