Why sit on a chair when you have a perfectly good floor

Wake up, sit on a chair and eat breakfast.

Travel to work or school, sit on a seat in the car or public transport. At work or school, sit on a chair. Eat lunch, sit on a chair. Travel home from work or school, sit on a seat. in a car or public transport. Eat dinner, sit on a chair Watch TV, sit on the couch. Go to bed. REPEAT. I guess you're picking up what I'm putting down. We spend so much time sitting down so why do we choose to sit on a chair or the couch instead of the floor? WE ARE LAZY!!!!!! Sitting on a chair requires very little muscle use, especially the muscles around our abdominals, due to the fact there is a perfectly good back on the chair to support us. Check your posture next time you are sitting on a chair. Hunched shoulders? Flexed spine? Soft tummy muscles and jammed up hip flexors? Sounds like I want to sit on the floor.

Sitting on the floor cross-legged allows your hips to open up and stretch, and as such we are forced to use our core muscles to support our body. In this crossed- legged position we are helping reduce body aches and pains as muscles around the pelvis, lower back and upper and lower abdomen are stretched and therefore reducing tightness and discomfort. We sit with better posture when we are on the floor with a straight, long spine and shoulders back. It is also believed we are assisting our digestion by sitting cross-legged on the floor. As a society we have become very lazy and unfortunately this has resulted in poor posture and weak and tight muscles around our body. Sitting on a chair folded forward at the hips for lengthy periods of time has a negative effect on the body in so many ways. Those poor little hip flexors are forced to work overtime while the abdominal muscles take a holiday as you slouch in a supported chair. Glutes and hamstrings switch off and don't even get me started on your back. We are always advised to stretch more but with such busy lifestyles it can be hard to find the time. Right? Perhaps we can just make different and potentially better choices by choosing cross- legged on the floor over the couch. Over time this will feel easier and easier as you inadvertently stretch your body. So, maybe next time when you are about to sit on the couch think of the negative impact this will have on your body and ask yourself, “Why would I sit on a chair when I have a perfectly good floor?”