I’ve previously talked about how floor sitting is very nutritious but if you’re required to sit when working, you can mix it up with sitting cross-legged on your chair. You can train yourself to sit longer and longer cross-legged. Remember to alternate between which legs are crossed in front 😉 If you can’t sit cross-legged you can then alternate between one leg up at the time.
Floor sitting however is still better as you get the extra movement every time you have to get up and down from the floor. Floor sitting and sitting cross-legged is like extending your yoga class by increasing your hip flexibility, which will reduce lower back and knee pain and make everything from walking to dancing easier and more enjoyable.
I suffered from lower back pain in my mid twenties but when I started practising yoga four hours a week for over four years my lower back pain went away. I’m pretty sure a big part of that was the increased hip flexibility that I experienced.
Since deciding to live in a couch free home two years ago and working a lot sitting on the floor, I’ve noticed how flexible my hips have become. It feels like it has happened out of the blue since I don’t go to the gym or yoga classes (at the moment) but the only thing I’ve done is change my sitting habits.
For the millions of years humans have existed, we’ve only been sitting in chairs for about 200 years. We’ve evolved to sit on the floor/ ground and frequently cross-legged. Today, in some parts of the world millions of people sit on the floor/ground and not chairs. Always sitting in a chair the same way restricts the natural movement of your hips.
Get started today by sitting cross-legged on your chair and sit in front of your couch using it as a back rest. Remember to listen to your body, change positions when your body tells you to and always stop if it hurts.
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