Restorative Exercise Analysis
When I first started studying Restorative Exercise I had no idea I would end up getting rid of all of our furniture, throwing away all of my designer shoes, ditching a desk for a standing work station, and getting rid of pillows. I would have thought those were pretty extreme moves, and to most people they are. But as I learned more and more about natural movement and how much our health depends on it- I began making the changes- a chair here, a desk there. The more I learned about the damage to my body- the more I started going rogue. The shoes and squatting were not so challenging - my feel felt awful in rigid shoes, my neck felt better the minute I ditched the pillows, and my body loved the benefits of standing over sitting. But throwing
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Your posture is better immediately (which also means you are using your abs, way more). You may not get a ripped six pack from sitting on the floor, but it’s pretty hard to stay slumped over. With nothing giving you the “back support” that sofa’s and chairs do, your body has to work to hold itself up, hello, that is exactly what is was designed to do!
5. Takes you out of the constant 90 degree angle. If you work at a desk, or spend time sitting for more than thirty minutes at a time there is no question that your hips and knees are at a constant 90 degree angle. Why is this bad? You aren’t giving your body the range of motion it needs to be healthy and your muscles are staying in that shortened position for hundreds of hours per month. And not having furniture forces you to get creative and lowers the wear and tear from all that hip and knee flexion.
Now for my warning. It’s not easy going furniture free, I am not going to stand on my soapbox and tell you that it’s like walking on pillows. The reality is it can be tough. We have been sleeping 8 hours a night on a hard floor and the first week was pretty uncomfortable, week two was better and week three was back to normal. It’s not easy but it’s worth it, returning your body to it’s natural state and allowing yourself the possibility of aging super gracefully and avoiding injuries by building strength is 100% worth it. As for the kids, occasionally ask why we aren’t like everybody else, which at this point in my parenting journey I consider a bit of a badge of
Your posture is better immediately (which also means you are using your abs, way more). You may not get a ripped six pack from sitting on the floor, but it’s pretty hard to stay slumped over. With nothing giving you the “back support” that sofa’s and chairs do, your body has to work to hold itself up, hello, that is exactly what is was designed to do!
5. Takes you out of the constant 90 degree angle. If you work at a desk, or spend time sitting for more than thirty minutes at a time there is no question that your hips and knees are at a constant 90 degree angle. Why is this bad? You aren’t giving your body the range of motion it needs to be healthy and your muscles are staying in that shortened position for hundreds of hours per month. And not having furniture forces you to get creative and lowers the wear and tear from all that hip and knee flexion.
Now for my warning. It’s not easy going furniture free, I am not going to stand on my soapbox and tell you that it’s like walking on pillows. The reality is it can be tough. We have been sleeping 8 hours a night on a hard floor and the first week was pretty uncomfortable, week two was better and week three was back to normal. It’s not easy but it’s worth it, returning your body to it’s natural state and allowing yourself the possibility of aging super gracefully and avoiding injuries by building strength is 100% worth it. As for the kids, occasionally ask why we aren’t like everybody else, which at this point in my parenting journey I consider a bit of a badge of