I Have been floor sitting off and on since I studied natural childbirth years ago. I often sit on the floor through long meetings, shifting, stretching and moving. When the meeting is over and others rise as though they are ready for a nap, I rise invigorated, feeling strong (I'm not saying I don't get stiff and I do often have to rise slowly). Recently my husband and my oldest son have raised their desks so that they stand (moving and shifting regularly) instead of sitting in an office chair all day. This is a very healthy change along with floor sitting.
Here is an article that I found this morning about floor sitting. I don't know anything about the author or his website, but you've probably already considered making this change. I hope you will be convinced.
To read the full article google; Marks Daily Apple.
Sitting down in a chair does funny things to our bodies. It stretches out our glutes, making them inactive, loose, and weak. People by and large no longer know how to activate their butt muscles due to excessive amounts of chair sitting. Sitting in a chair also keeps the hip flexors in a short, tight, contracted position for extended amounts of time, which can inhibit full hip extension and lead to that hunched over position you often see older folks shuffling around with. And that’s not even mentioning the extensive (and growing) literature showing how sitting for too long increases mortality and degenerative disease.
What might be most important, though, is what sitting in a chair doesn’t do. It doesn’t allow us to rest in the full squat position, an ability we’re born with but quickly forget how to do. It doesn’t let us do much of anything. Sitting becomes a totally passive act, where we’re slumped over, shoulders rounded, feet twisted up and resting on the chair legs, totally dependent on the structure of the chair to support our weight – rather than using our musculature and arranging our skeletal system in such a way that we support ourselves. Doesn’t it seem inconceivable that an animal – any animal – would evolve to require furniture in order to rest comfortably without incurring a disability?
That’s partly why it makes some sense to hang out on the floor more. We need the “stress” of supporting our own body weight and making sure our structures are in alignment. Here are a few positions to try out: Squat (with heals on the floor), half-kneel, crossed legs, make up your own- Human limbs are bendy. We can contort ourselves into lots of positions, and as long as you're on the floor, supporting your own weight and feel comfortable doing it, it's difficult to hurt yourself. Our bodies are good at giving feedback before things go really wrong. If your arm starts to go numb or your toes get tingly, switch it up!
You'll probably find that floor living is a constantly shifting existence, where instead of remaining in the same position for hours at a time, you're moving around all the time without even trying. You're switching from the right arm to the left arm to the right elbow to the full lotus position to the half kneel to the full kneel to the full squat just in the first two hours.
Why is this so important? The way we sit, and where we do it, changes the function of our bodies. It even alters the length of musculature. In countries where squatting and other forms of floor living are seamlessly weaved into everyday life, people still retain the mobility to do all that stuff into old age.
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