From passive sitting to activating your body

From passive sitting to
activating your body

By Hanne

There have been a lot of discussions about the harms of sitting in recent years. As the nature of work becomes more and more passive, the time office workers spend sitting down has become a significant risk for health. But, in what way is sitting harming the body? And what you, as an individual, can do to go from passive sitting to activating your body?

From passive sitting to
activating your body

A year ago, I wrote about why runners should do yoga. When running, the load targets the legs the most and with tremendous force, and as a result, thigh and pelvic muscles are being tightened. When seated, the passivity of the same areas manifests as tension and pain. A rigid body cannot function optimally, whether the rigidity is a result of a load brought on by running or sitting.

Body tensions affect the body’s natural postures and thus create new tensions and pains. Our bodies always strive to adapt to change, and as a result of sitting, the piled-up body finds new pathways to function, shifting the strain in the body from one point to another.

Sitting is relaxing at best, but the human body is not made to sit all day. Movement is medicine.

The worst enemy: Abdominal Crunches

When running, the load that affects the large supportive muscles of the body is three times your body weight. While when sitting, all of these large muscles that support the body are passive. When muscles are inactive, they don’t consume any energy. As a result, the nutrients circulating in the bloodstream that the body should use for muscle work find their way into store (fat).

A sitting position in itself is not suitable for our body as it forces our body out of its natural position. The angle of our thighs relative to our upper body is one-third smaller than their natural course. The back is rounded, resulting in the back muscles becoming strained, while our abdominal muscles are shortened in the front. The rounding of the back causes the head to protrude forward, which pulls the muscles of the neck.

By the way, did you know that one of the worst abdominal movements for office workers is abdominal crunch with (large) weights? On the other hand, a good movement is to do an abdominal crunch on a gym ball. The workout on a ball should be done so that the lower back is in contact with the ball at all times. Then raise the hands over the head and allow the back to land on the ball, giving the straight abdominal muscles the stretch they need and from there, proceed to the crunch maintaining the lower back contact with the ball.

Stand up, and do some yoga

When you think of yoga as a method to increase mobility for an office worker, you are already at the heart of it all. There are a lot of movements in yoga that, e.g., stretch the abdominal muscles. Think of a sun salutation where you start by bringing your hands over your head and stretching them toward the ceiling, or when you step into a high yoga lunge where you have your hands above your head, and you also get to stretch your hip flexors, which tend to be tightened when you sit.

What makes sitting harmful is that we sit a lot, up to 11 hours a day. When this is added to a night’s sleep, it means we are inactive for 2/3 of our day. In contrast, moving for half an hour does not help reverse the side effects of passivity.

Sitting should be rhythmic even during the workday. It means that you should get up from the chair every 30 minutes. The fact that you are getting up from a chair activates the muscles of your legs; a slight stretch combined with this already helps activate the body. Combining a few squat movements into your activity session gives you an opportunity to notice how your head works better when you sit down again and get back to work.

Keep it Simple!

When work sets limits to how active we can be during the day, even the slightest muscle activation is a plus. You can set a reminder to alert you every half hour to indicate that now is the time to move your limbs.

As in everything in our daily lives, the phrase applies here: Keep it simple! When you take a break, take it while standing and move your body. After a lunch break, walk around the building, or climb the office stairs. Give your imagination space for creativity and think of all the ways you can be more active during your day.

You can find yoga on my Youtube channel, especially for those who have to sit a lot during the day. Enter the video here.

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Hi, I'm Hanne

I am a yoga instructor and personal trainer dedicated to holistic wellbeing and natural living. On my blog, I share insights and practical tips to help you find balance and harmony in your life.