Many people have lives and jobs that involve sitting; from desk work to driving, modern life seems to involve more time sat down. So what can you do to help support your body when you sit?
Move around! Aim to get up and move around every hour, to get a drink of water, to get some fresh air. It’s a great way to stretch out the body, get the moving and to encourage the muscles to relax and let go. Useful tips are to arrange for meetings to be done standing or by taking a short walk outside with a colleague instead of sitting for a conversation.
Get set up! Set up your chair or seat so that you sitting with good posture, reducing the stresses on your body. If you work in an office you many have a specialist available who can help you with this. If not these guidelines can help; http://www.posturite.co.uk/help-advice/learning-resources/ergonomic-workstation-setup
What if your neck or back gets sore? There are a few movements and stretches that can help if you do get soreness occasionally.
Roll your shoulders up, back and down, as if you were trying to slide your shoulder blades down your back towards your waist
Think about your head position, position your head so you are looking directly forwards and slide your chin backwards to “re-stack” your head on top of your spine. This way your body is able to support your head with less effort from your muscles.
Stretch out across the front of your chest, by facing into the corner of a room, putting a hand on each wall and leaning into the corner.
An alternative stretch is to place both hands on your lower back and draw your elbows back behind you.
When you are sitting the muscles at the front of your hips tend to tightness and your glutes muscles, in your bum, also lengthen and weaken. This simple stretch can help, tucking the tail bone under to top the pelvis and shifting your weight forward until you feel a stretch at the front of the hip on the back leg.
There are lots of exercises to then strengthen the glute muscles, drop me a line to get a free guide all about them!
If your back or neck soreness becomes frequent it’s a good idea to book in to see me for a massage. I can help find the cause and work with you to treat it, as well as advising on how to avoid it’s return.