Long hours bent over a computer is crippling, it’s no wonder so many suffer from pain and stiffness.
Rule number 1:
Be aligned in your work station like a jui jitsu master.
Now this might seem a strange tip but bear with me.
Being poorly aligned at your work station is a great way to do a number on your neck and spine.
So how does jui jitsu come in?
When grappling posture is everything! If you are looking down your opponent can break your posture using your collar leaving you open to chokes.
At your workstation having your screen lower than your eye line means your heavy head will be pulling your neck and upper back out of alignment causing pain and stiffness.
In jui jitsu if you are not lined up with your opponent it’s very easy to be swept over leaving you open to attacks.
Sat at your desk not being lined up with your keyboard and monitor will cause your spine and neck to be in a twisted position which will cause pain.
Finally in jui jitsu you are taught to keep your elbows close to you. When your arm’s are far from your body the weaker you are and easier to attack.
At your desk the further your arms are from your body the more taxing it is and the more likely your back will bow. Keep your arms in, engage your upper back and save your spine.
Rule number 2 is:
Interrupt sitting with regular standing.
Even if you have the posture of a jui jitsu master you cannot keep it sat down for long.
Office chair sales people will have you believe you can sit for hours like a mountain, rooted, stable, impeccable.
They lie!
No matter your chair, your setup, or the strength of your core and your conviction, you will fidget and begin to slouch at some point.
The result is the infamous scourge of the office worker, the ‘C’ spine!
Like a longbow the office worker’s spine is curved with both ends being pulled to the center.
The result: a restricted heart, a collapsed set of lungs and a spleen and liver crushed.
Their disks bulge, their head lies heavy and their sitting bones neglected.
Short term stiffness becomes long term pain.
We need to stand, tall, with tension, strength and form
A broad chest, a narrow back, legs straight, hips and glutes engaged, feet active.
Find yourself slipping into the C spine of doom? Reclaim your posture, stand tall, strong and often.
Called tadasana in yoga and standing post in qi gong, stance training is the foundation of health, ensure you master it too!
Rule number 3 is:
Mobilise your neck, shoulder girdle and lower torso often to keep supple and limit wear and tear.
Do you remember those old Castrol GTX adverts with the epic music?
They claim that this oil protects the moving parts of an engine, we need to do the same with our neck and spine.
The old saying goes use it or lose it, if your major structures are kept in the same position your flexibility and health will deteriorate.
There is a vision of the home office worker with their head well forward of their body, stiff, closed in and bowed.
When they move their joints click and creak, wracked with soreness and pain.
The longer this goes on unaddressed the worse it gets.
The solution here is movement.
Picture an athlete slowly preparing their body for action.
Elite athletes can take up to an hour to warm up maybe more.
Working from home professionals must learn to maintain their body through refined movement patterns.
With regular practice the fluid in the joints becomes less viscous, the surrounding muscle loosens up and the healing can begin.
Where blood flows healing goes should be the motto.
The spine and neck deal with lots of weight so need lots of attention
Too much sitting puts us in bad position, learn to take care of your body sooner rather than later, you’ve only got the one.
Prevention is better than cure.