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Sitting Healthy
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Introduction Your Spine Hunched Over Arched Spine Observations

Our postures are so integral to our health that we’ll devote an article to proper sitting and another to proper standing.
We sit for long periods of time. We are at our desks or in our cars. We must stop to consider HOW we are sitting and maximize that time.
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Your Spine

 

The first order of health is the correction alignment of the spine.

  • Your spine runs up the center of your back, connecting your upper and lower bodies

  • Surrounds and protects the spinal cord, from which the primary nerves of the body emerge.

  • Small bones with cartilage between them. This cartilage should be able to expand and contract, allowing smooth flexible movement in the spine.

  • From prolonged periods of sitting or standing, we allow the spine to “shorten”, gently pressing the vertebrae closer and closer together, squashing the cartilage.

  • Think about the organs in your body. Picture them as you let your spine “shrink”, or begin to round, and picture them as your spine elongates upward.

  • How do the organs inside seem healthier? Where do they have more room to perform their functions?

  • The longer the spine, the more sound and secure it, and the rest of your body, will be.

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Hunched Over

 

This is very common, especially when we are sitting. We begin to tire, and our shoulders begin to droop forward.
Our heads start to hyper-extend forward. We don’t even notice that this is happening.
We are simply sitting at our desks or in our cars, doing what we’re doing, not paying attention.
At some point during the day, we discover that we are tired.
How can we be tired? We’ve been sitting still all day?
Yes, but we’ve been sitting in such a way as to strain our muscles, our spines, and our necks.

We tell ourselves to “un-hunch” and we pull our heads right up and all is well. But...

Think back to the spine. Take some breaths and let your torso, especially the back, relax a bit.
Exhale and pull your abdominal muscles inward.
Do you feel the difference in your lower back? Suddenly, your back is supported by the larger muscles of the abs. Good.
Bring your attention a bit upward from your abs to the bottom of your ribs and pull the bottom of your ribs inward, as if you are using your ribs to gently ease your spine into the back of the chair.
Keep on breathing – don’t forget! While you are doing this, you might discover that the chest and shoulders are beginning to tighten.
Exhale and relax those muscles.
Bring your attention up to your sternum, the breastbone. Pull that backward toward the back of your chair.
Inhale, let your whole torso relax, and press your shoulders apart and just slightly backward to the back of the chair.
One last thing – your head. Do you feel you neck pulling forward?
Exhale, relax your neck, and bring your head backward so that it rests comfortably above your shoulders.
Your chin should not jut forward – this is very common! Notice if you’re doing this and ease up on your chin! Let it relax slightly downward.
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Arched Spine

 

This is precisely the opposite of the hunched back.
In my Yoga classes, this is also much less common than hunching over, but it still needs to be addressed.

In this posture, your abdomen and navel are being pushed forward, pulling the small of your back away from the back of the chair, or from the wall.
The chest is hyper-extended, and from the side, the curve is your spine is very pronounced.

Take a big breath in, letting your abdomen relax some more. It’s already pressing forward anyway, so the inhale will make this more noticeable to you.

The exhale is crucial. Think about your abs and your navel.
As you exhale, pull your abs and navel backward, toward your spine.
Feel what happens! Your back is supported from the base and from the large muscles around your waist, rather than being perched between your buttocks and shoulders.
Inhale; you need to. Exhale and draw the breastbone inward slightly, until you feel your chest and upper back against the chair (or wall).
Relax your chin, just as above, in “Hunching Over”, and just SIT.
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Observations

 

Whether you were hunching or arched, you’re now sitting with proper spinal alignment.
Don’t let your spine collapse! Don’t scrunch! Keep breathing. When you breathe, let your torso relax OUT and IN, NOT UP AND DOWN.
If you can sense the relationships in your body, you want to experience your ears above your shoulders and your shoulders above your hips.
The spine gently pressing upward through the crown of the head, your neck relaxed and long, and your shoulders down and very slightly back.

  • Your spine is now wonderfully placed, one vertebra on top of the other
  • You are allowing the spinal cord and its myriad of nerves room to breathe, nourish themselves, and expel toxins
  • Your organs are opening with the expansion of your torso.
  • You are using the muscles that you don’t normally use.
    Don’t force your spine to stay against the chair – allow it to emerge from the abdominals, expanding from the core of your body.
  • When you are really tired, stop. Watch what happens. Your torso will contract.
  • Keep at it. The more you do it, the stronger you’ll get. It will require less effort and attention over time.
More than any single element of practice, I have learned that the way I sit affects my energy, health, disposition, outlook, ability to handle what comes up during the day, and my ability to relax.
I try to practice proper sitting WHENEVER I am sitting, whether is be on a couch, at my desk, in a restaurant, or in my car.
I don’t always remember. I get involved in what I’m doing, and I forget my posture. It takes practice!
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