Did you know that spending time on the floor can add years to your life?
It’s that time of year that triggers people to want to be healthier and most consider improving their diet, reducing stress, sleeping better, spending more time with people they love, and exercising more .. all of which are great, except, we know better in The Wellness Intelligence Collective. There are countless small things you can add to your day right now (and any time) to support all of your wellness goals. One simple and unlikely change you might not have considered (yet) … spend more time on the floor.
Benefits of “Floor Time”
+ Improved Posture … sitting on the floor encourages your back to straighten and your shoulders to rest back and down, rather than hunched and forward. Back, shoulder, and neck pain are the most common complaints seen in physical and massage therapy clinics, and better posture is one of the best ways to reduce and prevent this type of chronic pain. For the best alignment, you may want to sit on a small cushion so that your knees rest below your hips.
+ Improved Flexibility … sitting on the floor can be an excellent hip opener. Increased hip flexibility improves posture and can reduce lower back and knee pain and facilitate locomotion (moving!).
+ Improved Joint Range of Motion … sitting on the floor encourages a greater degree of range in your joints. When you sit down on a chair, what you’ve done is NOT used the muscles and your joints in the full range of motion it would have taken to get down on the floor.
+ Improved Strength … sitting upright without arm and back rests that a chair provides requires your core to work. These days, so many of us sit in chairs for so long that we have weak core muscles and experience “gluteal amnesia” and “dead-butt syndrome”. A strong core will improve posture and reduce injury.
+ Improved Non-Exercise Natural Movement … getting up and down off the floor will support all of the things that you count on to be able to do to live well … getting in and out of your car, going up and down a flight of stairs, getting into and out of a bathtub and bed, tying your shoes, housework, and playing with your kids/grandkids!
+ A Shift in Perspective … did you ever notice how a tiny change in your vantage point and environment can shift your whole perspective? Sitting on the floor instead of in a chair or on your sofa for a simple activity such as, watching TV or eating a snack, can cause a shift in your perspective and might just facilitate a change of mindset … a portal into opportunity!
Read this study in Medical News Today -> https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254100#1
Take the Sitting-Rising test in The Wellness Intelligence Collective!
If you’re not already a member, it’s free (and worth it) to join.
Keep practising and remember, the Power of Yet!
