Even if your company has a gym membership and ergonomically well-designed chairs, your back and neck are still vulnerable to injury. Why? Well, when you sit for hours on end while on stressful deadlines, you will inevitably fall back into bad posture habits. We all do it. These hunched-over postures put too much strain on instrumental muscles and make others weak. It’s a set-up for back collapse. I know. I’ve been there. As a veteran journalist and editor, I’ve been through it numerous times. I’ve worked for four to five hour stretches to get a deadline done and then stood only to feel extremely sharp pains that mean I won’t be able to stand or walk for at least a few days. I used to wonder how this could be. I wasn’t overweight. I ran. I went to the gym. I did abdominal exercises. But at the end of the day, I sat for hours on end absorbed in a deadline. This situation tightens the hamstrings, compresses the spine, weakens the psoas muscle of the low back, rounds and hardens the rhomboid muscle that runs between the shoulder blades, compresses the sternum and collar bones as they curl in, hardens and compresses the neck from the weight of the leaned-forward head, tightens the side neck muscles and jaw…and on and on.
Please watch my short back-saving video that gives valuable tips to lessen the damage that sitting for hours can cause. There is a way. I’m living proof! Last week I sat for hours on end editing my book. My back is safe. I took breaks. I did restorative yoga postures. I took deep breaths.
For my corporate clients, I teach a lunch hour restorative yoga class that allows the fascia, the connective tissues that clamp down on joints and ligaments during times of stress or lack of use, to open, to loosen its grip. From there, proper alignment is possible. My classes target the low back, the shoulders, the neck, wrists—providing relief from sitting too long. My classes also begin to strengthen the core muscles for posture, such as the psoas, hamstrings, abdominals, the rhomboid…that help employees sit safely and tackle their deadlines, without being vulnerable to future injury. Restorative yoga also allows the body to be healthy enough to rebound into power classes and activities such as surfing, running, skiing, without further injury. If your core postural muscles are weak from too much contact with your chair, they are vulnerable when you try to bounce back into activities you once embraced. Restorative yoga helps you do that safely. Contact me for rates. Here’s to healthy backs and joyful living in—AND out—of the office.
Namaste 🙂
