Morning everyone!
Welcome to another edition of the Doctor’s Note, where we talk about what’s on our minds when it comes to your health.
This week, we’re going to talk about how to sit, stand, and walk. We’re going to be talking about posture.
In my experience, people most of the time come to the doctor for one of two reasons: They’re hurting, or they’re tired.
Today we’re going to address some of the hurting, especially the type of pain relating to posture as you get older.
Fascia
Fascia is a membrane lining below your skin, and it surrounds every cell of your body. Think of it as “Body Wrapping”. Everything is separated by this fascia, which is connective tissue. It’s all interconnected. One part can affect the other.
An imbalance in these connective tissues can lead to pain, and even chronic debilities. Gravity has an effect as well because that connective tissue can become stiff and hard as you age.
Stress and dehydration make it worse. I’m feeling this everyday. I’m doing everything I can to battle it. Drinking lots of water, taking natural anti-inflammatories, and even using infrared saunas.
I’ve had poor posture most of my life. I’ve also had poor sleeping positions.
What you want is a loose, pliable body.
In this Note, I’m just going to give you a few tips for how to stand, sit, and move around. When you look at someone’s posture, you can tell a lot about how they feel. There’s lots of people who are in pain, and you can tell by just looking at them.
As a baby, it’s very difficult to get sore. As you get older everything stiffens up. That’s actually one of the reasons why I take EDTA. It helps with that.
Connective tissue and your posture affects everything. If you’re slumping over, then something isn’t right.
Sitting
You don’t want to slump down in your chair. Sounds obvious right? But it’s as dangerous as smoking. When you do this you are setting yourself up for a lot of pain.
The worst chairs are actually car seats, because you don’t move at all. When you pick a chair, you want an ergonomic chair.
How to sit
You really don’t want to use the back support when you’re sitting down. Make sure your thighs are pointing downward, and both feet are touching and feeling the ground. Most of your weight should be on your thighs, not your buttocks. Sitting too much on your buttocks affects your digestion, as well as diaphragmatic breathing. When you sit back on your buttocks, it limits the flow of your diaphragm going up and down. You want a pelvic leaning forward position.
And remember, you don’t want to sit for too long in a row. Get up and move around. Make subtle movements. I like to have a little pad in my chair that allows for some movement when I sit. You will also see people sitting on swiss balls at their office.
Get up and walk around during the course of your day. Get up every 30-45 minutes. And don’t just walk around.
This is going to sound weird, but kind of dance. Move your arms and your legs. Dance! Dancing around is actually one thing that can keep your fascia healthy.
Side Note: I love standing desks as well.
Final Thoughts
I learned about fascia through my massage therapist. They also turned me on to a Theragun, which is great for self massage. It’s great for tight IT bands, tight quads, and tight calves.
Bouncing is also so good for you. It’s great for lymphatic flow. You actually have more lymphatic fluid in your body than you do blood. This is why I’m a big fan of rebounding.
Bones are meant to float inside the fascia layering of your body. You don’t want your body to be a brick house. We are made to bend. There needs to be some give. Bones move around. That’s why they have joints. They’re meant to move.
If your bones are stiff, you’re in trouble and that’s what we’re trying to reverse.
One thing that has helped me is sitting on the floor. This allows you to open up your hip flexors.
And stand as if you are balancing something on your head. This will cue you to stand up straight.
That’s it for this week! Hope this helps!
