Is Sitting the New Smoking?

I’ve been thinking a lot about sitting lately. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen me post a lot about it recently too. And—no surprise—I’ve been sitting a lot lately.

You’ve likely heard that “sitting is the new smoking” but I have to say, I completely disagree. Yep—you heard me right:

SITTING IS NOT BAD!

Let’s be real: a person can stop smoking. And we know smoking is bad for your health. But I dare you to try and stop sitting. You just can’t! And you don’t need to. Because it’s not a bad thing.

Sitting does not equal sedentary—necessarily. Yes, we know that there are tons of negative health effects on a sedentary lifestyle. We are not meant to be sedentary beings. Just look at all the ways our bodies are able to move—they are built to move! But throughout the day we tend to sit only in one way: in a chair, legs forward (or crossed). Hips flexed, knees bent, back probably a little slouched. This is fine for a while—but I bet after some time your legs fall asleep, your back starts to ache, and your butt gets store. Right? Then you feel like you need to get to a yoga class just to get your angry body moving. And quite honestly—your pelvic floor isn’t loving it either.

What if you could get through your day and not feel stiff because you moved your body throughout your day? What if you didn’t need to exercise your pelvic floor because it’s just working with you throughout the day? (More thoughts on exercising the pelvic floor coming next week ;) )

Here are some ideas to give your body some variety:

-       Move your laptop to the coffee table.

-       Read on your belly, or on your back.

-       Take phone calls or meetings walking.

-      Change up the way you’re sitting often

-       Stand on something at your standing desk (rocks, a tennis ball, Pranamat).

-       Send something to a printer across the office so you have to walk to get it.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We don’t have to make huge shifts to feel huge shifts. Choose one thing to change this week and see how your body feels. Maybe it’s just one hour sitting at the coffee table, or meeting a friend for a walk at lunch on one day.

What’s your favorite way to sit?