Sit Happens: Take a Stand When It Comes to Moving More by Marilynn Preston on Creators.com

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Sit Happens: Take a Stand When It Comes to Moving More

Sitting still — at your desk, in your car, in front of the TV screen — turns out to be very bad for the body. Poor posture tends to crunch your organs, stagnate your blood and crumple your spine so the energy can't flow. Too much TV watching actually takes years off your life — something like five minutes for every episode of "The Daily Show." Sometimes I think it's worth it.

Sitting still — on a pillow or chair, in meditation, long enough to cool the brain and warm your heart — is very good for your body. It calms and nourishes. It relaxes tense muscles. It allows you to disconnect from the seated one and become your higher self, counting your breaths, sending love out to others, allowing for joy to infuse the present moment.

The other kind of sitting still — the killer kind — is almost impossible to avoid in this age of small screens and big, boundless work demands. We are Americans. We sit whenever possible, hours at a time. It certainly appears to be more civilized than squatting, but the truth is the squatter nations don't suffer from low back pain the way we sedentary Americans do.

We are a nation of schlumpers — yogi master Tias Little calls it schlump-asana — and because so many of us walk around in weird alignments, we suffer the consequences: back pain, bulging bellies, poor health, bad experiences on eHarmony.

The meditative kind of sitting, I'm happy to report, is catching on all over the country, in many different venues. Schools report that students can think better, perform better, if they sit still and meditate for a few minutes before and after their school day.

Workers too benefit from whatever form of contemplative practice is made available by kind bosses and progressive insurance companies — e.g. yoga, tai chi, quiet rooms with soothing music.

Men and women in prison are especially fond of meditation practice, once they get the hang of it, because it encourages them to let go of the past and stop worrying about the future. Doesn't that sound like a dreamy way to start your day?

And that's why meditation is going mainstream, just 5,000 years after yogis first folded it into their practice.

It's unfolding in the West at its own pace, and you can join in. You can choose to cut down the amount of time you spend sitting at your desk or in front of the TV vs. time spent taking care of yourself, sitting still or working out in a mindful way.

And what can you do to avoid the consequences of the other kind of sitting still, the kind that takes its toll on your health and wellness? Here are some ideas:

— MIND YOUR CHAIR. Eons ago, I switched to a kneeling chair because it forces me to sit more upright, more aligned. The newspaper I worked at didn't mind, as long as I paid for it, which I was happy to do. If you're not happy with the way you fit into the standard-issue chair at your company, invest in a better one. Consider a balance ball chair, for instance. It's inexpensive, and keeping balanced on a rubber ball can help tone your abs and core muscles, up and down your spine.

— CONSIDER A STAND-UP DESK. I tried my first stand-up desk with a built-in treadmill just a few weeks ago, for a minute or so, and it was an "Aha! I Want One!" experience. It's so cool! And so good for you! Imagine you're on a very slow moving treadmill — I repeat, very slow moving — in front of your desk, your hands free to read your email, make your calls, do your work. You burn calories, you juice the joints, you step up to a healthier way of doing your work. Check out trekdesk.com for all the reasons why 10,000 steps a day can save your life.

— TAKE BREAKS. If you're spending lots of time hunched over your desk, set a timer or download the app that reminds you to stand up, walk around, do some stretches, get a drink of water. Shake out your arms, relax your shoulders, get the blood flowing to the brain with some gentle forward bends. For this, we do yoga.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! GO ON! "Walking 10,000 steps a day can help reduce cancer rates by 30-70 percent." — National Institutes of Health

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, wellbeing coach, and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She has a website, http://marilynnpreston.com and welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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