It could be time to sell the couch!

So, the other day I alluded to the fact that sitting in chairs since we began primary school has caused a whole host of movement restrictions for us. Namely our inability to rest in the squat position like we should be able to. If you are having some trouble either getting into the squat or staying down there, read on, this will help.

Today I want to delve into how sitting could actually help us regain some of this lost ability to move. You might be thinking, 'hold on a minute', didn't he just say sitting was bad? Well yeah, but not all sitting is created equal.

Sitting on the ground or floor is something we have been doing for thousands of years. It's still something that many cultures across the globe still do to this day. They sit to relax, chat, meet, eat and pray. while in the western world we do all of the above on the good old chair. 

So, how can we benefit from sitting on the floor? For a start there are probably over 100 different ways to sit on the floor. Each places its own unique load on the ankles, knees, hips and lower back. While a soft chair provides support for all these joints (and weakens them at the same time) the floor forces the joints to respond in a positive way. Your body weight and gravity push into the floor creating load. The cells and joints in turn respond to this load by thickening the associated structures (think tissue and bone) to adapt to the surface. 

I know this from my own knowledge of the body and personal experience. I, like many of you, had stopped sitting on the floor to the point where I couldn't sit with my legs crossed for longer than a minute. That's right, one measly minute, pretty pitiful by my standards. So, at that point I decided to change. I started sitting on the floor every night for 45 minutes to an hour. I can tell you it has made a massive difference to my lower body mobility (or ability to move) over the past 3 years. 

There is no right or wrong way to sit on the floor, it's totally up to you how you do it. Give it a go for a month and, I promise, you won't look back. Who knows, you might even decide to sell your couch on Trade Me?