Tips For Extended Sitting
Here are 3 tips for you that you can use for yourself or share with others:
Help The Host. Sometimes people feel a bit self-conscious or inappropriate about getting up during a dinner party even when they feel uncomfortable. It can help to have an excuse to allow yourself to get up and move around. You can pop up to help the host clear the table and/or go grab the desserts. Our bodies weren’t designed to sit still for too long, so you would be doing yourself a favor by doing the host a favor.
Please SLOUCH. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as “perfect posture”. People often assume an erect posture will be our saving grace (or so it has been said by many of our mothers). In reality if we were to walk around and sit like this all day long, our muscles would get rigid and overworked (If you don’t believe me, try it). What our body actually likes is a change in position; we were designed to to use different positions throughout the day. With this being said, I challenge you to follow the “30-minute rule.” The simple guideline of this rule is that you change whatever position you are in every 30 minutes. For example, if you have been sitting in full attention at dinner with an upright position, switch over to a slouched position using the back of your chair. If your body can’t tolerate the 30 minutes, just adjust the amount of time that you’re doing it (i.e, 15 minutes).
Repurpose Your Coat. Some of you already acknowledge using a pillow while sitting in your car, work station, for dining table. However, you might be pillow-free when you go out to a restaurant or other people’s homes. A simple, inconspicuous item that you could use as support is your coat rolled up or folded up into a ball (pending on the weather I suppose). Simply place your coat against your back just above your beltline for some arch support. Or, place it under your thighs to decrease the pull on your back from your leg muscles.
Happy Dining!