Frederic Brussat
We have read that sitting is the new smoking and when we sit all day hunched over our computers, we are doing irreparable damage to our precious bodies. In this article by Caroline Dowd-Higgins, she quotes Lisa Fields who believes there is a high price that eventually must be paid for our sedentary lifestyle:
“A growing body of research shows that long periods of physical inactivity raise your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.”
Buddhists talk about the four postures of reclining, sitting, standing, and walking. In New World Mindfulness, Donald McCown and Marc Micozzi characterize sitting as the place where stillness and change meet. That’s an interesting way of describing the one posture that we have persistently overdone in our lives.
Here are some of the hazards stemming from too much sitting: high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol, over-productive pancreas, colon cancer, mushy abs, tight hips, poor circulation in the legs, soft bones, strained neck, sore shoulders and back, disk damage and a foggy brain.
We need to move around more in the day doing little exercises and rituals, walk or jog, and make a conscientious effort to promote good posture, strength, movement, flexibility and balance. As Gloria Steinem has wisely said: “If we bless our bodies, they will bless us.”
