As the owner of Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC, I had the pleasure of sitting at the desk this afternoon all day, as I subbed for my office assistant who was out on a vacation day. Calling all sitters, IT workers, computer-savvy folks!! How do you do it? My body is aching and I cannot wait to move tonight. I will head out for a 25 mile cyle in minutes….. I am so tired from looking at the computer screen. It is no wonder we all must do Yoga, Pilates and do loops in the park, whether you run, walk cycle or skip!! Your shoulders, back, neck, legs etc…. must be so knotted up…..
I am happy to be escaping the office side of my Pilates studio in just minutes…. I will cycle far away over the George Washington Bridge into Pallisades Park…. Aaaah, sounds like RELIEF to me…..
What do you do to unfold your body after a long day at the desk? Would you like some suggestions? If I had to do this everyday, I would need 15 min Yoga/Pilates interludes every hour.
Dear Gail,
Over the summer, we presented two “Power Sitting” Posture Clinics in which we developed a series of Pilates-based stretches using an elastic band, along with some movements developed by our resident practitioner of The Feldenkrais Method®.
The principles we focused on were grounding the feet and pelvis through the relationship between the backs of the heels and the sits bones, and then relating the scapula to the sits bones to promote the sensation of postural support as a suspension of the spine.
We received feedback from the participants from which I wrote recaps of the clinics on our blog, relating
reflections of the presenters of the clinic which included three Pilates teachers, a physical therapist, and our CranioSacral Therapist.
Here is a link to both the sneak peeks and the recaps of the two clinics: http://pilatesiconoclast.typepad.com/universalprinciples/power-sitting-posture/
One stretch that I teach almost everyone I work with is a sitting piriformis stretch which I feel benefits postural support much more readily and efficiently than the more typical way to stretch the piriformis, laying down on the back and pulling the crossed leg in.
Here’s a video that I think I showed you at one time. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=63781624509
Hope you are recovering well from your sudden bout of having to sit. I suppose we can be grateful that as Pilates and movement teachers and therapy practitioners, that our active lifestyles help others towards more ease and efficient posture, while keeping us keen on how to deal with those times we ourselves have to sit, which the majority of people really do all day.
Thanks for the post.
Tim Driscoll Backbone and Wingspan
Dear Tim and fellow Pilates practitioner,
I viewed your video a long time ago and have used the sitting piriformis stretch many times already. You are so right about being a mover and not HAVING to sit as much as the majority of folks. I am so grateful for that! The pain I experience from sitting so much reminds me that it is important to move, stretch, practice yoga or Pilates EVERYDAY! I also think LEARNING, not being instructed each time but really learning how to do a stretch properly is key and I know in your clinics you are instructing each person in detail so that one has something to walk (or sit) away with which can be used daily for the rest of their lives. It’s brilliant. Thank you for commenting on Mind Your Body’s Pilates & GYROTONIC blog. We are lucky to hear from you!