Have you realized that your mom was right about a lot? “Eat your veggies.” “Don’t stare at the TV for too long.” “Don’t make funny faces or it will stay that way (mom was obviously predicting the beginning of wrinkles).”
One piece of advice that I’ve been particularly cognizant of lately is “Sit up straight in your chair.” Not only does it look better, it also helps prevent body degeneration. Unless you’re like me, you probably don’t have a chiropractor following you around muttering things like, “ sit up straight”, “chest out”, “do some kettlebell rows”, etc. Even though it sounds annoying, it reminds me to be mindful of moving around because I'm sitting at a desk for majority of the day. Stop and think for a minute—how long have you been sitting without getting up? Have you been slouching? Is your back rounding? Are you hunched over? All of these things are making your body hate you.
In order to find more balance in our lives—physically and mentally, we need to be more mindful of allowing for it. Carving out time to create good habits is a start. Dr. Patrick Eley and I recently teamed up with BuildOn to create a “wellness buffet” for the kids at John Hancock High School. Students were exposed to different health & wellness related information and techniques for creating healthier habits. We conducted jiu jitsu/self defense lessons, yoga flow (including chair yoga) to learn de-stressing and stretching techniques and Dr. Patrick Eley taught the kids about nutrition, particularly focusing on sugar and its poor effects on health.
These students have block scheduling so they sit for long periods of time. I created a yoga flow that can be done with or without a chair. After the event, I realized the yoga chair flow is not only helpful for students, but for anyone who sits for extended periods of time. When I was working in an office, I would get “in the zone” and type on my computer for hours on end. I would forget to get up and move around and sometimes I’d even forget to eat. I know, people think that’s crazy, but it does happen.
I also traveled a lot and carried a huge “purse bag” with a 12 lb. computer and lord knows what else slung over my shoulder. About a year ago, I was getting off a plane and had a severely sharp pain in my shoulder blade. I could barely lift my arm. Without my chiropractor near I was well, “you know what” out of luck. I had been ignoring the nagging pain in my shoulder for the past few weeks and this was a sharp reminder that I needed to get my life back into balance.
When I got back from that trip, I did a severe makeover of my routine. I started doing consistent kettlebell workouts to strengthen my shoulders, sat up straighter at my desk, rotated between standing and sitting, stopped hunching and rounding my shoulders and stopped staring and typing on my phone for long periods of time. I had to stop the bad habits I’d built over time and instill new, healthier habits if I wanted to reverse the damage I had done to my body.
Sequence can be done with or without a chair
Change takes time and time is precious so I recommend starting small. The only way you are going to get balance at work and in life is if you mindfully make it happen. If you’re like me and tend to “get in the zone” or have a lot of meetings throughout the day, block off 5-10 min on your calendar with “busy” or "stretch" as the subject. Start by doing it once a day, then increase to two. Set a reminder on your phone if that works better for you. In order to create good habits, you need to provide yourself with structure. Creating rituals helps us manifest balance and allows us to flourish in other areas of our lives that need more attention or spontaneity, like your relationships or creative work.
I created this yoga chair flow so you can do the whole sequence together or do the moves separately at different times throughout the day. They are simple and stretch out different parts of your body that get stuck and sore when you sit in a chair all day. If someone gives you a funny look, just ask that health naysayer to join you for a stretch. An old coworker and I started doing stretch sessions around 3pm when we were in the office together and it helped freshen our brains as well as provide our bodies with a well-needed break from the desk. We’d ask others to join us and it would turn into a fun break for everyone rather than huddling around the coffee machine or water cooler. Healthy habits are infectious. Believe me, no one is going to make fun of you for being healthy.
If you do nothing else after reading this, at least listen to your mom and SIT UP STRAIGHT. Stop hunching. Right now. As soon as you hunch over, you are firing your sympathetic nervous system which triggers our evolutionary “fight or flight” reaction, in turn, your blood pressure increases, your heart beats faster and digestion is inhibited. It makes you stressed and increases cortisol levels, which has many negative effects on our body like storing excess body fat. When you sit up straight with your shoulders back, you fire your parasympathetic nervous system, the more relaxed state, which slows your blood pressure and heart beat and stimulates digestive activity. Many of the poses in the yoga chair flow allow for your body to be in this parasympathetic state. In our second podcast, Dr. Patrick Eley and I discuss the sympathetic nervous system and other negative effects lack of movement and poor posture can induce as well as tips on how to get moving and the best activities to balance out your body.
Being "too busy" is not an excuse for letting your health deteriorate. Your health should be your number one priority. The only person who is going to make that a reality is you. If you need someone to motivate you or hold you acccountable, just call your mom, she’ll put you in your place.