Monday, 22 November 2021 | Namita Piparaiya
Namita Piparaiya lists a few ways to balance out the sedentary lifestyle, thus, minimising its ill effects on our health
Our modern-day lifestyle has taken a significant toll on our posture. Sitting or slouching in front of a screen can create muscular imbalances which result in aches and pains across the neck, shoulders, or lower back. Not only does our posture impact our body, but it also impacts our mind. A slouched posture can negatively influence our mood making us more prone to fatigue and anxiety. It can also impact our confidence levels.
Here are a few ways we can balance out our sedentary lifestyle to minimise the ill effects on our health.
Get up often
Sitting is so bad for us because we do a lot of it. If someone was spending their days standing for hours, then that would also have negative health effects. Essentially, if you’re not changing your position often, you’re at high risk of postural issues. Therefore, add variability, shift around on your chair, get up often and take a stroll around. The best and most effective way to reduce the ill effects of sitting is to keep changing your position from time to time.
Stretch the hip flexors
Hip flexors are a group of muscles at the front of the hip and they tend to become tight from long hours of sitting. The body starts to adapt to the posture we stay in most often. Therefore, hip flexor stretches like anjaneya asana (low lunge) are very helpful. For even better results, you can add a side bend when in your lunge position.
Stretch the upper back
The muscles in the upper back tend to stiffen up due to long periods of inactivity. These can be released with twisting movements such as supine belly twist. You can even add a twist to the previous lunge position by converting it into a twisted low lunge, also called Spiderman Stretch. Backbends like bhujang asana are also very helpful for activating the spine.
Stretch the shoulders
To find even more relief go deeper into your shoulders with Shoulder Flossing that really helps to open up the shoulders. It feels great to do in the morning and also in the evening after a long day. Gomukh asana arms or infinity arms are also effective in relaxing the shoulder joint, however, it may not be suitable for everyone. Other great options to stretch the shoulders are extended child pose and reverse namaste or paschima namaskar.
Strengthen the body
While stretching is very helpful, it is also important to strengthen the underactive or weak muscles in the body. Certain muscles tend to become weak due to long hours of sitting. These are your glutes, hamstrings, traps, abs, cervical flexors, and so on. These can be strengthened with postures like bridge, plank, chin tuck, and YT shoulder exercises.
Try to hold the stretches for 15 to 30 seconds and you can repeat them up to twice on the same day. Try to stretch at least thrice a week, but you can stretch daily as well. Make sure you give the body at least one day of complete rest during the week. It’s also important that you don’t stretch to the point of pain — you should hold a stretch at 90 per cent of your capacity.
Lastly, remember consistency matters, not intensity. Even if you give yourself just seven-10 minutes of stretching but you do it regularly, it can make a world of difference to your physical and mental health.
(The author is the founder of Yoganama and a Yoga and Ayurveda lifestyle specialist.)
